MW Stadiums, shows abroad keep Live Nation upbeat on next year after sales miss expectations

By Bill Peters

Fan counts in Live Nation's international markets are on track to surpass those in the U.S. for the first time

Live Nation's stock is up more than 17% so far this year.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. on Tuesday said concert demand is set to stay strong into next year, helped by shows abroad and concerts at its biggest venues. However, the Ticketmaster parent company's third-quarter sales came up short of Wall Street's expectations.

Shares of Live Nation (LYV) fell 5.5% after hours on Tuesday.

Live Nation, which oversees a huge swath of the ticketing market and also runs hundreds of venues, reported the results as sales at its shows hold up despite concerns about rising costs of living - particularly for lower-income consumers - and as regulatory scrutiny grows.

During the company's earnings call, executives said that they hadn't seen signs of a pullback among any of its consumers.

Live Nation reported third-quarter revenue of $8.49 billion, an 11% gain from the previous year but below FactSet analyst estimates for $8.58 billion. The company earned 73 cents a share, while FactSet had forecast $1.32.

"Strong fan demand drove another record quarter, as we continue to attract more fans to more shows globally," Chief Executive Michael Rapino said in a statement.

"With these tailwinds, 2026 is off to a strong start, with a double-digit increase in our large-venue show pipeline and increased sell-through levels for these shows," he continued.

Executives said that ticket sales in October were pacing ahead of last year - with more fans expected to turn out in the fourth quarter, as more people attend shows at arenas and smaller indoor theaters and clubs. Live Nation said it expects margins to be "consistent" with last year.

But even as venues like stadiums bring in big audiences, one analyst during Live Nation's earnings call noted that smaller venues, like arenas and amphitheaters, had been underperforming. Rapino downplayed those concerns, and said next year would be a good one for all three venue types.

"Sometimes, Europe overdelivers and America underdelivers," he said. "Sometimes, the amps are having a record year; sometimes, the stadiums are having a record year. And that's always been the pattern here."

He added that many artists had decided not to play arenas and amphitheaters, and went for stadiums instead.

"We would hope we have this problem every year where stadiums are dominating the business," he said. "It just continues to show the strength of the consumer and the buyer."

Live Nation's stadium-show count was up 60% globally during the third quarter as big artists have gotten bigger, while less established artists more acutely feel the impact of low streaming income and higher touring costs. At its theaters, each of which holds several thousand people, and its clubs, which generally hold fewer than 1,000 people, the company so far this year has seen attendance levels similar to those last year.

Live Nation reported results as it tries to meet demand in areas it sees as underpenetrated, like Mexico and Europe. Fan counts in Live Nation's international markets are on track to surpass those in U.S. for the first time, the company said in its earnings release. Live Nation has increased its investments in Mexico-based concert promoter Ocesa, in which it holds a majority stake.

In Tuesday's earnings release, Live Nation said "fan segmentation" - that is, tailoring drinks and other items it serves to an artist's audience - helped drive spending at some venues. The company is renovating old venues and opening up others, moves that it says have helped or will help draw more concertgoers.

But as the company gets bigger, the U.S. government has grown more concerned. Following the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit last year, the Federal Trade Commission in September sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster, accusing them of illegal ticket-resale tactics and of misleading artists and consumers about prices and ticket limits. The FTC said Ticketmaster controlled "about 80% or more" of the primary ticketing at big concert venues.

During the call, Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold said there was little to report on the state of the FTC lawsuit due to the government shutdown, but added that he doesn't believe the agency has a strong case.

Berchtold noted that the case with the Justice Department was in the middle of expert depositions, with a trial date set for March 6. But he said a ruling in a recent antitrust case involving Alphabet Inc.'s $(GOOGL)$ $(GOOG)$ Google left him hopeful that Live Nation itself wouldn't be broken up.

Live Nation's stock is up more than 17% so far this year, but its performance has sagged in recent weeks. Benchmark Research analyst Matthew Harrigan said that was more likely due to concerns about the broader economy.

"Live Nation's stock pullback since mid-September is in our viewmostly attributable to global economic angst, with [the company] still outperforming the recent StubHub $(STUB)$ IPO as well as Vivid Seats (SEAT)," Harrigan said.

-Bill Peters

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November 04, 2025 18:47 ET (23:47 GMT)

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