BACK IN BLACK: LIVE NATION'S Q3

During the quarter that ended 9/30, the return of concerts drove Live Nation’s business segments to positive operating income and adjusted operating income for the first time in two years.

Revenue in the quarter was just shy of $2.7b, with $2.15b of that coming from concerts.

Seventeen million people attended 5,500 LN shows—4,235 of which were in North America—in the quarter; festivals, where overall ticket sales were up 10% from 2019, sold out in record time.

A robust 2022 appears to be in store: There was $1.9b of deferred revenue from ticket sales built up at the end of Q3; the year’s 2022 show count is already up double digits from 2019; and Ticketmaster has already sold 65m tickets.

The company expects 2022 to be “far and away” the largest stadium concert year in the company’s history, President Joe Berchtold said during a conference call with analysts.

In a statement to shareholders, Live Nation President and CEO Michael Rapino noted that the 2022 Coldplay and Red Hot Chili Peppers tours have each sold 1m tickets, and several other tours have already sold more than 500k tickets.

He also predicted that Ticketmaster’s fourth-quarter transacted fee-bearing GTV (gross transaction value) will hit a new record, thanks largely to selling tickets to 2022 events. The company continues to cut costs and will deliver $200m in structural savings from the pre-pandemic 2020 plan.

“We delivered these results within an operating environment that required us to ramp up quickly, institute new health and safety protocols and staff our front line in a tight labor market,” Rapino wrote. “I fully expect we will continue to have bumps in the road in the coming months, and it will take some time for international artists to be touring on a truly global basis, but the fundamental strength of live entertainment and Live Nation has proven out, and I expect we will only continue to grow from here.”

Rapino said there were no issues in terms of personnel or supply chain when the amphitheaters were reopened in the summer. After seeing positive responses to the extended season in the open-air venues, Rapino said Live Nation will continue to stage outdoor concerts later in the year, particularly in the South.

Live Nation closed Thursday at a 52-week high of $107.52.