A busy year in high-margin amphitheaters and arenas pushed concert promoter Live Nation to a record $2.15 billion in adjusted operating income (AOI) in 2024, up 14%, on record revenue of $23.16 billion, up 2%.
In the concerts division, full-year revenue rose 2% to $19.02 billion. Despite having 30% fewer stadium shows in 2024, the total number of fans grew to a record 151 million from nearly 55,000 Live Nation events, up 9.2% year-over-year. A heavy slate of concerts at arenas and amphitheaters, where Live Nation can offer VIP experiences and capture more revenue from food and beverage sales, helped AOI climb 65% to $529.7 million and AOI margin — AOI as a percentage of revenue — reach a record 2.8%.
Ticketing revenue for the full year increased 1% to $2.99 billion while AOI dropped 1% to $1.12 billion. Ticketmaster had 23 million net new enterprise tickets that were signed in 2024, with two-thirds coming from international markets.
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Sponsorships and advertising revenue grew 9% to $1.2 billion and AOI rose 13% to $763.8 million. Led by festivals in Latin America and Europe, international markets were up double digits. The number of new clients increased 20%.
Live Nation is expecting 2025 will top its record-setting 2024. Through mid-February, stadium shows are up 60% from the prior-year period and 65 million tickets have been sold for Live Nation concerts, a double-digit annual increase. Ticketmaster’s transacted ticketing revenue for 2025 shows is up 3% to 106 million tickets, due mainly to an increase in concert demand.
After a strong concert season in 2024, demand for stadium concerts shows no signs of abating in 2025, CEO Michael Rapino said during the earnings call. First-week ticket sell-through for stadium dates of more than 75% are “much higher” than in 2024, he said. “So, no slowdown at all. Lots of inventory, but equally great demand.”
Currently, Live Nation’s stadium tours for 2025 include Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour, Morgan Wallen’s I’m The Problem Tour, Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National Tour, and Post Malone and Jelly Roll’s Big Ass Stadium Tour.
Strong demand extends well beyond stadium shows, Rapino added. “Our club and theater business is stronger than ever,” he said. “And obviously our stadium business is on fire. So, whether it’s geographical, whether it’s venue type, or whether it’s festival, we’re still seeing strong, strong consumer [demand] across the board in terms of buying tickets for the ‘25 season.”
The increase in stadium shows from 2024 means Live Nation isn’t able to generate the ancillary revenue that drove 2024’s AOI gains, but CFO Joe Berchtold pointed out that a single stadium show can deliver the same amount of revenue to Ticketmaster as 10 amphitheater shows. On the concert side of stadium shows, “we’re absolutely making money on attractive returns,” Berchtold added. “We just don’t get to count the beer money and the parking money, as we do with our own venues.”
Consolidation fourth-quarter revenue dropped 2% to $5.68 billion as concerts revenue dipped 6% to $4.58 billion and ticketing and sponsorships and advertising grew 14% and 10%, respectively. Fourth-quarter AOI fared better, however, rising 35% to $157.3 million despite concerts AOI falling 16%.
Following the earnings release on Thursday (Feb. 20), Live Nation shares fell 1.7% to $149.70 in after-hours trading.
This story was updated on Feb. 20 at 6:36 p.m. ET with details from the earnings call.