After a four-week span that negated some positive earnings results and strong global trends, music stocks received a reprieve from the gloom that has spread over the economy since the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and European countries.
Tencent Music Entertainment shares rose 11.6% to $14.00 after the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release on Tuesday (March 18) showed a big increase in both subscribers and subscription revenue. The Chinese streaming company’s revenue surpassed $1 billion in the fourth quarter, an 8.2% increase, and net profit climbed 47.3% to $284 million. Additionally, Tencent Music made two announcements that tend to get a warm reaction from investors: a dividend and a $1 billion share repurchase program.
The Billboard Global Music Index gained 3.0% to 2,533.53 as 12 of its 20 stocks posted gains, seven lost value and one was unchanged. After suffering through a tariff-induced, four-week losing streak, the S&P 500 improved 0.5% and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.2%. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 broke a two-week losing streak by gaining 0.2%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 3.0%. China’s SSE Composite Index dropped 1.6%.
Music streaming company LiveOne gained 13.3% after the company announced it surpassed 1.3 million subscribers and ad-supported users. The index’s third-best performer, K-pop company SM Entertainment, rose 10.0% to 100,300 KRW ($68.46).
A handful of companies that had taken a hit since mid-February fared better this week. iHeartMedia gained 9.3% to $1.76, improving its year-to-date loss to 17.4%. Madison Square Garden Entertainment rose 7.6% to $33.85, its first weekly gain in four weeks. Live Nation also broke a four-week losing streak, improving 3.2% to $123.06.
Satellite radio broadcaster SiriusXM shares gained 3.5% to $23.47. The company announced on Thursday at named Anjali Sud, CEO of on-demand video streaming platform Tubi, as an independent director to its board. SiriusXM shares are down 39.5% over the last 52 weeks but have rebounded recently and are up 5.0% year to date.
French streaming company Deezer shares fell 6.0% to 1.41 euros ($1.53) following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release on Tuesday (March 18). Deezer’s revenue grew 12% to $591 million but its subscribers fell 3.1% to 9.7 million (the decline was actually more significant Deezer because removed 500,000 inactive family accounts from its 2023 subscriber count). Despite the week’s decline, Deezer shares are up 7.6% year to date.
The biggest loser of the week, JYP Entertainment, fell 12.2% this week following the K-pop company’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings release on Tuesday (March 18). Revenue grew 26.8% in the fourth quarter and 6.2% in the full year, but operating profit dropped 2.6% in the quarter and 24.3% in the full year due to a decline in album sales, a higher proportion of management revenue and an introduction of new artist lineups.
