Live Nation Books Another Record Revenue Year, Looks Toward An Even Rosier 2025

Live Nation Entertainment reported record revenues of more than $23.1 billion in 2024, a 2% edge over 2023.

In its year-end earnings report, released after markets closed Thursday, the live giant reported quarterly earnings of $5.68 billion, down 2% from the same quarter in 2023. Still, that’s a beat over analyst expectations for the quarter, with the consensus set at $5.54 billion. On the bottom line for the quarter, LN booked a loss per share of $0.56, a big surprise beat, as analysts had grown bearish in recent weeks, predicting losses in the $1.19 per share range. For the year, LN finished with operating income of $824.5 million.

In line with the top number, growth was modest for the year across all sectors. Concert revenue checked in at $19 billion, up 2% against 2023, with the fourth quarter number of $4.58 billion down 6% against the same time in 2023. Year-long ticketing revenues of $2.99 billion were in line with 2023’s number, boosted by a 14% jump in the fourth quarter. It was a record three months for Ticketmaster with $841 million in revenue. Sponsorship continues to be a growth segment for LN. After finishing 2023 with more than $1 billion in sponsorship revenue for the first time, the company added another $100 million this year for a 9% year-on-year improvement.

“2024 was live music’s biggest year yet, as artists toured the world and fans turned out in record numbers. 2025 is shaping up to be even bigger thanks to a deep global concert pipeline, with more stadium shows on the books than ever before. To help artists perform to fans everywhere, we remain focused on building new music-centric venues, which make more live music memories possible and help drive our double-digit operating income and AOI growth in 2025, and compound at this level for years to come,” Michael Rapino, president and CEO, said in a statement. “At the same time, we’re investing back into the industry for those who create the music, as our investments in artists have more than doubled in the last five years, and we will continue to find new ways to support them while enhancing the fan experience.”

Despite slower stadium traffic — a talking point all year for the concert industry in general and Live Nation specifically, which saw a 30% in stadium shows — fan count hit 151 million for the year, driven by increases at arenas and amphitheaters.

Looking forward, Live Nation expects a return to stadiums in ’25, with the pipeline pacing 60% ahead of 2024. The increased stadium business plus growth in international markets has driven future ticket sales north of 65 million, up double digits from the same time in 2024, with deferred revenue of $3.3 billion, an 11% jump on last year. First week on-sales are selling through at a higher rate than last year and recently touring artists — those who toured between 2022 and 2024 — are seeing double digit growth for 2025.

The company predicts stadium shows in the middle two quarters of 2025 to drive its growth for the year. There are Q1 concerns in the Latin American market as most currencies are expected to fall against the dollar during the time when the LatAm market is typically busiest.

Transacted tickets from Ticketmaster are at 106 million for 2025, largely driven by the concert business. And in line with the trend on sponsorships, more than 75% of the contracts are filled, up double digits from last year.

On the venue side, Live Nation expects to add 20 “large venues” through 2026, including stadium projects in Bogota and Toronto. Fan count at operated venues is expected to grow by 5 million. Capital expenditures will be north of $900 million, with the possibility of hitting $1 billion.