Live Nation Entertainment vs Warner Music Group
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Live Nation Entertainment and Warner Music Group side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Live Nation Entertainment is the larger business, with $25.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $6.7B for Warner Music Group, about 3.8 times as much.
- Live Nation Entertainment grew revenue faster (8.8%, against 4.4%).
- Warner Music Group kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (10.4% operating margin, against 5.0%).
- Warner Music Group turned more of its sales into free cash flow (8.0% FCF margin, against 1.3%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 6 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Live Nation Entertainment
LYV
3/6
Revenue growth5-year growthNet debt / EBITDA
Warner Music Group
WMG
3/6
Operating marginNet marginFCF margin
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | LYV FY25 | WMG FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $42.3B | — |
| Revenue | $25.2B | $6.7B |
| Free cash flow | $334M | $539M |
| Net income | $496M | $365M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.8% | 4.4% |
| 5-year growth | 68.4% | 8.5% |
| Share count change | −1.9% | — |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 45.9% |
| Operating margin | 5.0% | 10.4% |
| Net margin | 2.0% | 5.4% |
| FCF margin | 1.3% | 8.0% |
| Return on capital | — | 12.2% |
| Return on equity | — | 62.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.1B | $3.8B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.6x | 3.6x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $23.5M | $399M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | — |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.