HYBE, Warner Music Group, Live Nation Stocks Post Big Gains After Earnings Results
Also helped by Spotify, music stocks jumped 9.0%, nearly erasing the prior week's huge decline.
HYBE was the week’s top performing music stock after its share price jumped 15.9% to 291,000 KRW ($209.33) following the company’s Q2 earnings on Wednesday (Aug. 6). The K-pop giant’s revenue rose 10.2% year-over-year to $516.7 million, while operating profit jumped nearly 30% to $48.3 million
Other K-pop stocks also posted big gains. YG Entertainment rose 17.4% after reporting an 11.6% revenue gain in Q2. JYP Entertainment climbed 14.5% even though the company did not report earnings this week. SM Entertainment, which reported a 19% increase in consolidated revenue in Q2, gained 8.3%. Collectively, the four K-pop companies posted an average stock price gain of 14.0%.
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A week after nearly all music stocks suffered losses, a handful of Q2 results helped the Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) gain 9.0% to 2,980.51. Stocks improved in markets around the world after taking a drubbing a week earlier. In the U.S., the Nasdaq composite rose 3.7% and the S&P 500 improved 2.3%. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 improved 0.3%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index rose 2.9%. China’s SSE Composite Index improved 2.1%.
Warner Music Group (WMG) shares jumped 10.8% to $31.71, its best closing price since March 27, following the company’s earnings results on Thursday (Aug 7). Encouraged by streaming growth, market share and cost-cutting, among other developments, some analysts raised their WMG price targets following the announcement. J.P. Morgan lifted WMG to $36 from $33, citing revenue that came in ahead of estimates and “margin-accretive growth” to come from renewed licensing deals with streaming platforms. TD Cowen raised WMG to $46 from $36. Guggenheim maintained its buy rating and $37 price target.
Live Nation shares gained 4.7% to $153.13 and reached an intraday price of $156.65 on Friday (Aug. 8), less than $1 below its 52-week high, after the company’s earnings results released Thursday showed a 16% spike in total revenue and a 19% jump in concert revenue. Many analysts lifted their price targets on Friday, including Benchmark (to $180 from $178), Wolfe Research (to $173 from $168), Guggenheim (to $182 from $170), Goldman Sachs ($168 from $162), Roth Capital (to $180 from $164) and JP Morgan (to $180 from $165).
The biggest streaming companies also posted strong gains. Spotify, the BGMI’s most valuable component, jumped 12.4% to $706.22 after dropping 9.4% a week earlier. Currently valued at approximately $145 billion, Spotify is well below its 52-week high of $785.00 set on June 27. Netease Cloud Music rose 9.0% to 266.80 HKD ($33.99), bringing its year-to-date gain to 133.6%. Tencent Music Entertainment rose 7.7% to $22.13, raising its 2025 gain to 95.0%.
Cumulus Media, which reported earnings on Thursday, saw its shares fall 6% on Friday but finished the week up about 14%. Investors reacted to the 9.2% decline in revenue in the second quarter and CEO Mary Berner’s description of a “challenging” advertising landscape. Adjusted EBITDA fell 11.3% to $22.4 million from $25.2 million in the prior-year period.
iHeartMedia was the week’s biggest loser, falling 11.6% to $1.60. The company will report second-quarter results on Monday (Aug. 11).
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