With a market cap of $31.5 billion, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (LYV) is the world's largest live entertainment company, headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Formed in 2010 through the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, it operates across concert promotion, ticketing, venue management, artist management, and sponsorships.
Shares of LYV have outperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. LYV has climbed 39.9% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has gained 8.2%. On a YTD basis, LYV surged 3.6%, compared to SPX's 4.7% fall.
Narrowing the focus, LYV shares have also outpaced the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF Fund's (XLC) 20.1% rise over the past 52 weeks and a marginal rise on a YTD basis.
Live Nation Entertainment reported its Q1 2025 earnings on May 1, and its shares soared 1.9% in the following trading session. It posted revenue of $3.38 billion, declining 11% year-over-year and missing analyst expectations of $3.50 billion. The concert segment contributed $2.48 billion, while ticketing revenue was $694.7 million, both falling short of forecasts. Despite the revenue shortfall, the company achieved a net income of $23.2 million, a significant turnaround from a net loss of $54.48 million in the same quarter last year.
For fiscal 2025, ending in December, analysts expect LYV's EPS to decline 8.8% year-over-year to $2.50. However, the company's earnings surprise history is solid. It beat the consensus estimates in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 20 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Strong Buy.” That’s based on 18 “Strong Buy” ratings, one “Moderate Buy,” and one “Hold.”
This configuration is more bullish than a month ago, when it had 17 “Strong Buy” ratings.
On May 2, Roth MKM analyst Eric Handler reiterated a “Buy” rating on Live Nation Entertainment while revising the price target downward from $174 to $164.
LYV’s mean price target of $166.16 represents a premium of 23.9% from the current market prices. The Street-high price target of $180 implies a potential upside of 34.2%.
