Live Nation Entertainment revealed earnings for a strong second quarter. Among the highlights: revenue was up 10% for the quarter to $3.2 billion; AOI increased 23% to $319 million and earnings per share climbed 68% to $0.41.
Key in today’s report is what the company calls a “strong tailwind in the live event, experience-based economy of today.” That means a rise of 16% in global ticket revenue from Live Nation concerts for the first half of the year. Also worth noting, ticket revenue from concerts outside of Live Nation’s top 100 artists is up 32% so far in 2019, pointing to a robust market that trickles down even into local clubs. Overall, the company sold over 73 million tickets through mid-July, up 6% over the same period last year.
Other growth areas include sponsorship revenue for individual artist tours as well as festivals; mobile ticket purchases, up 22% from the second quarter in 2018, now accounting for 45% of global ticket sales (Ticketmaster is under the Live Nation umbrella); and acquisitions. Just yesterday (July 24), the company announced acquiring a controlling interest in Mexico’s Ocesa Entertainment, which is home to Ticketmaster Mexico and a giant among promoters in Latin America.
Summarized president and CEO Michael Rapino: “Each of our businesses is contributing to this success, starting with concerts as we put on more shows for more fans, then continuing to monetize fans at the concert, sell more tickets to events of all types, and further deliver value to our sponsors from our platform of nearly 100 million fans.”