The release of CTS Eventim’s third-quarter results on Thursday (Nov. 20) marked the last earnings report from a major music company until early 2026 (a few smaller companies tend to announce much later), meaning it’s time for Billboard’s awards-style recap running down the best and worst of the bunch.
Music companies generally had a good quarter. Live Nation set yet another record for third-quarter revenue. Spotify delivered the double-digit revenue growth people have come to expect. K-pop companies delivered strong revenue growth, although earnings usually didn’t keep pace.
In a rare occurrence, a handful of music streaming companies actually posted revenue declines. China’s Netease Cloud Music was down 2%, Deezer was off by 1% and LiveOne, hobbled by changes at Tesla, fell 42%.
Aside from the financial numbers, AI gave companies a great deal to talk about. Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group took the force-multiplier approach by announcing major AI licensing deals a day before they released earnings. Each company went into their conference calls with analysts in the immediate wake of a positive development on a hot-button topic: Recently signed agreements with AI music generator Udio, which will turn into a rights holder-friendly walled garden when it re-launches in early 2026.
For more details, check out Billboard‘s recap of all music companies’ earnings results released through Nov. 21.
Without further ado, here are the highlights from the latest round of earnings results.
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Greatest Progress on a Business Model: Sphere Entertainment Co.
It’s not difficult to find a critic of Sphere, the massive, spherical venue in Las Vegas with huge production costs and a mountain of debt, as sustained profits are a long-term project and aren’t likely to appear until Sphere franchises open in Abu Dhabi and other markets. Still, Sphere Entertainment Co. — which also includes MSG Networks — made progress in the third quarter. Sphere landed a hit with its AI-assisted update of The Wizard of Oz, which has sold over 1 million tickets to date at an average price analysts put at well over $100. Showings of Oz and other movies rose to 220 from 207 in the prior-year quarter, and a winning residency from Backstreet Boys helped the Sphere division turn a negative adjusted operating income (AOI) into $36 million of positive AOI.
Best Revenue Growth Rate, All Companies: YG Entertainment
Third quarter revenue jumped 107% to $128 million for the company behind such K-pop groups as BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, beating out fellow K-pop company JYP Entertainment, which topped the list last quarter with a 126% year-over-year growth rate. Because K-pop companies focus their resources on relatively small rosters, their financial results tend to have greater volatility than Western companies with far more artists under their roofs. Revenue rises and falls based on the success of a handful of new albums and tours.
Best Revenue Growth Rate, Digital Service Providers: Tencent Music Entertainment
Online music revenue jumped 27.2% to $979 million as the number of paying users rose 5.6% to 125.7 million. Tencent Music didn’t break out the number of subscribers to its high-priced Super VIP tier — it’s been at 15 million for a few quarters — but the quarter’s 10.2% increase in average revenue per user suggests that Super VIP made a positive impact.
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Best Stock Price Bump: SiriusXM
SiriusXM shares jumped 10% the day the company released earnings — not because of the results, but because the company raised its full-year guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow by $25 million. The satellite radio company, which also owns streaming brand Pandora, is trying to manage declining subscribers and a soft advertising market by cutting costs. The plan mostly worked in the third quarter as SiriusXM’s adjusted EBITDA fell just 2.5% to $676 million, and revenue fell 1%. Net cash from operating activities jumped to $430 million from $309 million in the prior-year period.
Worst Stock Price Drop: StubHub
The secondary ticketing company went public on Sept. 17 and released its first earnings report on Nov. 13. Revenue was up 11% year over year — it would have risen 24% if not for Taylor Swift ticket sales in 2024 — but the company didn’t issue guidance for the fourth quarter. Investors reacted as if StubHub was hiding bad news, and the share price dropped as much as 31% the following morning and finished the day down 21%. Right on cue, news broke on Monday (Nov. 17) that the U.K. government plans to ban the resale of tickets at a profit, causing StubHub’s stock to drop an additional 30.7% over the next four days.
Best Attempt at Earnings Call Levity: Spotify
Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek is stepping down as CEO and will be replaced by co-CEOs Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström, who are currently co-presidents. As Ek explained when the company released third-quarter results, the Nov. 4 earnings call would mark his final such appearance before he transitioned to the position of executive chairman. At the end of his introductory remarks, Ek then turned the call over to Norström. “Thanks, Daniel,” Norström said. “No pressure.”
Worst Quarter: Vivid Seats
The secondary ticketing company’s revenue plummeted 27% to $137 million and adjusted EBITDA fell to $4.9 million from $34.1 million in the prior-year quarter. The news sent the Chicago-based company’s share price down 11.3% in a single day. But Vivid Seats is taking steps to improve: It replaced CEO Stan Chia with Lawrence Fey, who was previously CFO; doubled its annualized cost-savings target to $60 million; and “simplified” its corporate structure “to maximize our operating efficiency,” the company stated in a press release. On a positive note, the news about the U.K. government’s intention to limit ticket resales to face value doesn’t hurt Vivid Seats, which has international aspirations but gets virtually all its revenue from North America.
