Most music stocks posted gains this week as markets absorbed falling consumer sentiment and the producer price index’s fastest rate of increase in three years.
iHeartMedia was the week’s greatest gainer, rising 40.6% to $2.25. The radio giant’s stock rose 25% on Tuesday after its Q2 earnings showed the company beat revenue guidance and managed a small improvement in revenue. CEO Bob Pittman referenced “a still uncertain macro environment,” but a 13% gain in digital revenue helped offset declining broadcast radio advertising revenue.
Shares of Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) jumped 15.5% to $25.55 following the company’s Q2 earnings release on Tuesday (Aug. 12). TME’s revenue jumped 18% as subscribers improved 6.3% to 124.4 million, and the company said it has over 15 million subscribers to its Super VIP tier. Nomura raised its price target to $31 from $21.50 and maintained its “buy” rating. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded TME to “outperform” from “neutral.”
The Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 4.2% to 3,104.37, marking the third time the index has closed above 3,000. The BGMI is now just 0.4% below the all-time high of 3,117.20 from the week ended June 30, and its year-to-date gain improves to 46.1%. Twelve of the index’s 19 stocks were winners this week, while seven lost ground. The index dropped to 19 companies after Believe stopped trading on the Euronext Paris in late July.
Other indexes gained, but didn’t fare as well as music stocks. In the U.S., the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9% and the S&P 500 improved 1.0%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index rose 0.5%. China’s SSE Composite Index gained 1.7%.
SiriusXM jumped 7.5% to $23.03. The market could be betting that Howard Stern will return to SiriusXM after the conclusion of his five-year contract at the end of this year. A promo running during his show claims that Stern will speak on the matter on Sept. 2. Stern, who first signed with SiriusXM predecessor Sirius Satellite Radio in 2004 and started broadcasting on the service in 2006, was integral to the company’s early growth and remains a marquee talent as SiriusXM adds new voices such as podcaster Alex Cooper.
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Live Nation, still glowing after a strong Q2 earnings report a week ago, reached an all-time high of $162.95 on Thursday (Aug. 14) and ended the week up 5.1% to $160.93. The concert promoter and ticketing company released earnings on Aug. 7 that showed a 16% revenue gain and record second-quarter concert revenue. Numerous analysts raised their price targets in the wake of the earnings.
Spotify, the index’s largest component, rose 3.8% to $732.81. The music streamer is well below its all-time high of $785.00 set on June 27, but it has risen over $100 per share in the last two weeks and recaptured the value lost after the company’s Q2 earnings caused the stock to drop 11.6% in a single day.
Sphere Entertainment Co. fell 1.0% to $39.87 but finished the week strong after the stock dropped 3.4% following the company’s earnings release on Monday (Aug. 11). Morgan Stanley lifted its price target to $40 from $35 and maintained its “equalweight” rating.
The week’s biggest loser was MSG Entertainment (MSGE), which fell a modest 3.1% after the company’s fiscal year earnings report on Wednesday (Aug. 13) showed a 74% drop in profit due in large part to the conclusion of Billy Joel’s Madison Square Garden residency in July 2024. Morgan Stanley is optimistic about MSGE’s future, however, and raised its price target to $44 from $41.
