Sphere Entertainment Revenue Tops $1B For Fiscal Year

Bolstered by Dead & Company’s residency and a four-day run by Phish, Sphere Entertainment closed its fiscal year with more than $1 billion in revenue.

The corporation, which operates the innovative eponymous Las Vegas venue but also includes MSG Networks, reported its fourth quarter and fiscal year earnings Wednesday.

For Q4, the company reported revenues of $273.4 million, a slight beat over analyst expectations of $271.3 million, and annual revenues of $1.03 billion. Sphere reported a net loss of $46.6 million for the quarter and a $201 million loss for the year; both were slightly better than expected and SPHR shares surged on the news in morning trading.

The Sphere venue reported fourth quarter revenues of $151.2 million. Nearly half of that revenue — $74.5 million — came from the Sphere Experience interactive attraction and 208 repertory performances of the Postcards from Earth film. Concerts, the NHL Draft and the venue’s first corporate event — Hewlett-Packards annual meeting — generated $58.4 million. Exosphere advertising, sponsorships and suite licensing generated $15.9 million. The venue posted an operating loss of $104.5 million in Q4.

Sphere will host its first live sports event — UFC 306 — in September. Eagles begin a residency that month, as well.

Sphere received approval Tuesday from the Paradise Town Advisory Board to increase its maximum decibel level to 85 for audio synced to its Exosphere displays. The Clark County maximum is, generally, 76 decibels. Final approval of the waiver rests with the Clark County Planning Commission, which next meets Sept. 4.