Warner Music Group
WMG Nasdaq Movies & Entertainment Financials FY2016–FY2025
Warner Music Group's revenue rose 4.4% to $6.7 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 10.3%, down from 12.8% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $539 million, down 15.5%. It paid out $399 million in dividends and buybacks, 74% of free cash flow.
About these figures. Warner Music Group reports earnings per share and share counts separately for its Class A and Class B shares, which the SEC's company-level data leaves out, so per-share figures are left blank.
What Warner Music Group does
Warner Music Group finds, signs and promotes musicians and songwriters and earns money from their music. Its record labels include Atlantic Records, Warner Records, Elektra Records and Parlophone Records, with artists such as Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Cardi B and Dua Lipa. Its music publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, owns or manages the rights to more than two million songs by over 190,000 songwriters and composers.
It has two businesses. Recorded Music, which earns money mainly when people stream, buy or license its recordings, brought in $5.408 billion, or 81% of revenue, in the fiscal year that ended in September 2025. Music Publishing, which collects fees when songs are played, recorded or used in films, ads and games, brought in $1.306 billion, or 19%. It depends heavily on a small number of streaming services. Citing industry data, it says it, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are the three largest record companies, with many smaller and independent labels competing too.
Access Industries, which bought the company in 2011, still controls it, holding about 98% of the voting power. Warner Music had about 5,500 employees in September 2025.
- Legal name
- Warner Music Group Corp.
- Fiscal year ends
- September 30, 2025
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Nov 20, 2025
- Accession · CIK
- 0001319161-25-000034
0001319161
Revenue and margins
Warner Music Group had $6.7B of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 4.4% on the year before.
Net income and earnings per share
Loss periods are shown in red.
Returns on capital
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Cash flow
Free cash flow was $539M in fiscal 2025, 8.0% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.
Dividends, buybacks and share count
Warner Music Group returned $399M to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 74% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.0%.
Value Warner Music Group yourself
Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.
Discounted cash flow
Value per share
—
Adds net cash of −$3.8B and divides by 0.0M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.
Balance sheet
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Warner Music Group can carry it.
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $499M | $584M | $641M | $694M | $532M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $3.3B | $3.7B | $4.0B | $4.0B | $4.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.1x | 3.0x | 3.0x | 2.9x | 3.6x |
| Debt / equity | — | — | — | 7.8x | 6.8x |
| Interest coverage | 5.1x | 5.7x | 5.0x | 4.5x | 3.9x |
| Current ratio | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.7x |
| Quick ratio | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.6x |
| Total assets | $7.2B | $7.8B | $8.5B | $9.2B | $9.8B |
| Total liabilities | $7.2B | $7.7B | $8.1B | $8.5B | $9.1B |
| Shareholders' equity | $31.0M | $152M | $307M | $518M | $647M |
| Net debt (− = net cash) | $2.8B | $3.1B | $3.3B | $3.3B | $3.8B |
Insider trades
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. 'Plan' marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
Bought, 12 months
$2.0M
2 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Of sales under plans
—
$0.0M
Piotroski F-score
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Return on assets rose | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debt fell relative to assets | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Current ratio rose | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Share count didn't rise | — | — | — |
| Gross margin rose | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| F-score | — / 9 | — / 9 | — / 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −3.1% | −3.6% | −3.3% |
| Altman Z'' | −0.73 | −0.68 | −0.83 |
Similar companies
Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don't line up exactly.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warner Music Group WMG | — | 4.4% | 10.4% | 8.0% | 12.2% | — | — | |
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10 years of figures
US$ millions unless stated. Hover a ratio's name for its definition.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $3.2B | $3.6B | $4.0B | $4.5B | $4.5B | $5.3B | $5.9B | $6.0B | $6.4B | $6.7B |
| Gross profit | $1.5B | $1.6B | $1.8B | $2.1B | $2.1B | $2.6B | $2.8B | $2.9B | $3.1B | $3.1B |
| Operating income | $214M | $222M | $217M | $356M | −$229M | $609M | $714M | $790M | $823M | $694M |
| Interest expense | $181M | $138M | $148M | $138M | $128M | $119M | $125M | $157M | $182M | $177M |
| Pretax income | $41.0M | −$2.0M | $442M | $267M | −$447M | $456M | $740M | $609M | $601M | $490M |
| Income tax | $11.0M | −$151M | $130M | $9.0M | $23.0M | $149M | $185M | $170M | $123M | $120M |
| Net income | $25.0M | $143M | $307M | $256M | −$475M | $304M | $551M | $430M | $435M | $365M |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $342M | $535M | $425M | $400M | $463M | $638M | $742M | $687M | $754M | $678M |
| Capital expenditure | $42.0M | $44.0M | $74.0M | $104M | $85.0M | $93.0M | $135M | $127M | $116M | $139M |
| Free cash flow | $300M | $491M | $351M | $296M | $378M | $545M | $607M | $560M | $638M | $539M |
| Depreciation and amortization | $293M | $251M | $261M | $269M | $261M | $306M | $339M | $332M | $327M | $376M |
| Stock-based compensation | $23.0M | $70.0M | $62.0M | $50.0M | $608M | $45.0M | $39.0M | $49.0M | $52.0M | $54.0M |
| Acquisitions | $28.0M | $139M | $23.0M | $231M | $94.0M | $64.0M | $509M | $126M | $40.0M | $46.0M |
| Share buybacks | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $16.0M |
| Dividends paid | $0.0M | $84.0M | $925M | $94.0M | $344M | $265M | $318M | $340M | $361M | $383M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $84.0M | $925M | $94.0M | $344M | $265M | $318M | $340M | $361M | $399M |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $359M | $647M | $514M | $619M | $553M | $499M | $584M | $641M | $694M | $532M |
| Total debt | $2.8B | $2.8B | $2.8B | $3.0B | $3.1B | $3.3B | $3.7B | $4.0B | $4.0B | $4.4B |
| Finance lease liabilities | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Current assets | $908M | $1.3B | $1.2B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.9B | $2.1B | $2.4B | $2.6B | $2.8B |
| Current liabilities | $1.8B | $2.1B | $2.4B | $2.8B | $2.7B | $3.2B | $3.4B | $3.5B | $3.9B | $4.2B |
| Inventory | $41.0M | $39.0M | $42.0M | $74.0M | $79.0M | $99.0M | $108M | $126M | $99.0M | $62.0M |
| Property and equipment, net | $203M | $213M | $229M | $300M | $331M | $364M | $415M | $458M | $481M | $441M |
| Total assets | $5.3B | $5.7B | $5.3B | $6.0B | $6.4B | $7.2B | $7.8B | $8.5B | $9.2B | $9.8B |
| Total liabilities | $5.1B | $5.4B | $5.7B | $6.3B | $6.5B | $7.2B | $7.7B | $8.1B | $8.5B | $9.1B |
| Shareholders' equity | $195M | $293M | −$334M | −$289M | −$63.0M | $31.0M | $152M | $307M | $518M | $647M |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 47.4% | 46.0% | 45.8% | 46.4% | 47.7% | 48.3% | 48.0% | 47.4% | 47.8% | 45.9% |
| Operating margin | 6.6% | 6.2% | 5.4% | 8.0% | −5.1% | 11.5% | 12.1% | 13.1% | 12.8% | 10.4% |
| EBITDA margin | 15.6% | 13.2% | 11.9% | 14.0% | 0.7% | 17.3% | 17.8% | 18.6% | 17.9% | 16.0% |
| Net margin | 0.8% | 4.0% | 7.7% | 5.7% | −10.6% | 5.7% | 9.3% | 7.1% | 6.8% | 5.4% |
| FCF margin | 9.2% | 13.7% | 8.8% | 6.6% | 8.5% | 10.3% | 10.3% | 9.3% | 9.9% | 8.0% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 5.6% | 6.9% | 6.9% | 16.9% | −7.9% | 15.2% | 17.3% | 16.1% | 16.9% | 12.2% |
| Return on capital employed | 5.9% | 6.2% | 6.6% | 11.5% | −6.7% | 15.7% | 16.8% | 16.7% | 16.0% | 12.8% |
| Return on equity | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 62.7% |
| Return on assets | 0.5% | 2.6% | 5.6% | 4.5% | −7.6% | 4.5% | 7.3% | 5.3% | 4.9% | 3.9% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | 9.4% | 10.2% | 12.0% | 11.7% | −0.3% | 18.8% | 11.7% | 2.0% | 6.4% | 4.4% |
| Net income growth | — | 472.0% | 114.7% | −16.6% | −285.6% | — | 81.3% | −22.0% | 1.2% | −16.1% |
| FCF growth | 88.7% | 63.7% | −28.5% | −15.7% | 27.7% | 44.2% | 11.4% | −7.7% | 13.9% | −15.5% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 4.8x | 4.6x | 4.8x | 3.8x | 79.7x | 3.1x | 3.0x | 3.0x | 2.9x | 3.6x |
| Debt / equity | — | 9.6x | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7.8x | 6.8x |
| Interest coverage | 1.2x | 1.6x | 1.5x | 2.6x | −1.8x | 5.1x | 5.7x | 5.0x | 4.5x | 3.9x |
| Current ratio | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.7x |
| Quick ratio | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.6x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.1% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.7% | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1.1% | 13.6% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| Payouts / FCF | 0.0% | 17.1% | 263.5% | 31.8% | 91.0% | 48.6% | 52.4% | 60.7% | 56.6% | 74.0% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Altman Z'' | −1.3 | −1.0 | −2.0 | −1.5 | −2.2 | −1.3 | −1.0 | −0.7 | −0.7 | −0.8 |
| Accruals ratio | −5.8% | −7.1% | −2.1% | −2.5% | −15.1% | −4.9% | −2.5% | −3.1% | −3.6% | −3.3% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0001319161). Data updated October 9, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.