Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) executives used the company’s full-year and fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call to outline drivers behind their outlook for 2026, discuss recent developments in ongoing government scrutiny, and provide more detail on demand trends and the company’s Venue Nation buildout.
2026 outlook: “Double-digit” AOI growth driven by sponsorship and concerts
President and CFO Joe Berchtold said the company is guiding to “double-digit AOI growth in 2026,” and broke down the key building blocks by division.
In ticketing, Berchtold said the company is “not expecting a lot out of it this year,” pointing to underlying mid-single-digit growth alongside “one-time headwinds on secondary.”
He said the largest contributor to the growth outlook is expected to be concerts, where the company anticipates “double-digit solid growth,” citing ongoing supply-demand dynamics. Berchtold said demand remains “extremely robust” globally, while supply indicators include increases across multiple venue types:
- Large venues and amphitheaters (“amps”) are up versus 2024 and 2025, with about 80% of shows booked.
- Arena show count is up double digits, which he said is “largely U.S.-driven” this year versus being more international-driven last year.
- Stadiums are up double digits, driven “by international,” with the U.K. and Europe highlighted as strong markets for stadium growth.
Management sees continued global growth in live entertainment supply and demand
President and CEO Michael Rapino said the company is seeing continuity in trends it has discussed for several years, emphasizing the live business as global and expanding across markets and venue sizes. He said demand is coming from “all corners of the globe” and that activity is increasing “from my club business to stadium.”
Rapino said he does not see a new trend versus prior years and framed live entertainment as “a continual growth industry on a global basis.” He described industry-wide growth as “high single digits,” adding that Live Nation hopes to outperform that based on the combination of “more bands on the road” and more fans wanting to see them.
DOJ case: company says summary judgment ruling reduced “breakup” risk
Responding to a question about the Department of Justice case, Rapino said the company was “very pleasantly surprised” by a judge’s partial grant of Live Nation’s motion for summary judgment. He said the court determined that promotion and booking services are not a monopoly and called that market definition “not an accurate” one.
Rapino argued that dismissal undercuts the rationale for a potential breakup, saying the breakup argument was “founded on some notion of mutually reinforcing monopolies,” and that the ruling that promotion and booking are not a monopoly “takes away that edge risk that some folks had had.”
He also said the court dismissed what he called the “national consumer monopoly market,” which he said means the government needs to show that Ticketmaster’s alleged monopoly harms venues rather than relying on claims it harms fans. Rapino said the company believes that makes the case “somewhat more difficult” for the government.
Secondary market actions: Ticketmaster broker listings “cut in half,” more identity tools
On the secondary market, Berchtold described the company’s efforts in two categories: restricting broker activity on its platform and trying to prevent scalpers from obtaining tickets in the first place.
Berchtold said that shortly after an FTC lawsuit, Ticketmaster took “immediate action” that “dramatically restricts” brokers selling on its platform, including limiting brokers to “one broker account per tax ID” and requiring ticket listings to stay within limits. He said the impact has been to “substantially reduce,” or “roughly cut in half,” the number of broker-listed concert tickets on the platform, while noting the tickets may still be sold elsewhere “pending them taking similar steps.”
He said Ticketmaster has also ramped up account-creation identity verification and is increasing the use of tools—including identity verification—for artist signups and queues to improve real-fan access. Berchtold also pointed to increased use of Face Value Exchange and said the tools are helping “shrink the overall industry” while giving artists more control over tickets and fan relationships.
Rapino said Live Nation supports “giving more control to the artists,” adding the company supports price caps “because we don’t seem to be getting more nuanced solutions to give the artists that control.” He said momentum is building against problematic secondary behavior and highlighted recent efforts with artists including Noah Kahan and Kid Rock. Rapino said more than 100 artists are now using Face Value Exchange and said he expects legislation to “creep in” state by state.
Demand and pricing: executives cite affordability focus and steady sell-through
Berchtold said demand remains strong across concerts, festivals, and the club and theater level. He emphasized affordability, stating that in the U.S., “75% of the tickets are under $100,” and said artists are “acutely aware” of pricing to ensure broad fan access. He added the company is “not seeing any pullback, any issues whatsoever in demand for any budget-conscious fans.”
Asked about recent on-sale activity and sell-through, Berchtold said performance is “consistent” with last year. He cited examples of unusually high demand mentioned in the earnings release, naming Harry Styles, BTS, and Bruno Mars as having demand “higher than we’ve ever seen before.” He also noted Live Nation is not involved with FIFA ticketing and did not comment on World Cup pricing.
On Ticketmaster gross transaction value (GTV), Berchtold said the company ended the year with GTV up about 6%, driven by a 9% increase in concerts and a 1% decline in sports and other third-party activity. Looking ahead, he said Live Nation expects growth to “probably accelerate a bit,” with potential improvement in other categories over the year, while stating the company feels good about Ticketmaster’s operational “runway.”
Rapino also addressed distribution partners, saying they are less critical for “superstar stuff” that sells out on its own, but helpful for shows that need more reach. He cited Spotify among multiple partners that can help sell tickets for non-sellout events in various markets.
On Venue Nation, Berchtold disclosed that pre-opening costs were $25 million last year and are expected to ramp to $50 million this year, adding he does not expect that pace of increase to continue as the business reaches a steadier state and venues mature “two to three years” after opening. Rapino said the company has a “large pipe” of arena and amphitheater opportunities globally and expects more to come.
Finally, Berchtold said venues choose Ticketmaster primarily because “we just sell more tickets,” citing promoters and managers’ views that Ticketmaster helps deliver higher grosses through distribution, marketing, and pricing tools. He said economics can matter more in mature markets like the U.S., while venue-level software tools may play a larger role in less mature markets, but emphasized that “selling tickets is the overriding number one factor.”
About Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV)
Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company’s core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.
The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry’s largest ticketing platforms.
