By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Live Nation stock (NYSE:LYV) surged 7% Thursday after concerts and other live events returned to the stage, helping the organizer beat fourth-quarter revenue estimates.
Several operational parameters are now ahead of their pandemic-free 2019 comparisons.
“Ticket sales were at a record pace across every metric with October, November and December being our top three months ever for ticketing gross transaction value, excluding refunded tickets,” the company said in a statement.
According to the company, in the final five months of the year, it had over 15 million fans at its outdoor events in U.S. and U.K. – festivals, stadiums, and amphitheaters had nearly 25% higher attendance than during the same period in 2019.
Sponsorship and advertising followed the fans. The company attracted new brand partners like Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Disney’s Hulu in the fourth quarter, Live Nation said.
Revenue climbed more than eleven times to $2.7 billion, helped by higher ticket prices.
Through mid-February, the company said it has sold 45 million tickets for shows this year, up 45% from 2019.
“We already have eight artists who have sold over 500 thousand tickets for their tours this year, including Bad Bunny, Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish,” it said.
The company’s event-related deferred revenue for 2022 stands at $2.3 billion —almost double year-end 2019 level. Confirmed show bookings and ticket sales are up double-digits across major venues while sponsorship commitments are also up double-digits relative to 2019 with over 80% sold of the space for the year, it said.
Operating income topped $160 million in the quarter.