| “In 2025, the bond between artists and their global fan bases reached new heights, fueling another year of double-digit growth. As artists continue to unlock untapped markets and headline the world’s most iconic stadiums, we’ve built momentum that carries us into a record-breaking 2026.
We’re not just building venues; we’re crafting world-class stages designed to elevate the artist’s vision and their connection to fans. By strategically expanding our global footprint and investing in premium, upgraded infrastructure, we provide the canvas for career-defining performances. This investment doesn’t just drive ticket sales—it revitalizes local economies and cements our venues as cultural anchors. With a deep pipeline of large-scale shows and ticket demand continuing its ascent, we are positioned for another year of double-digit operating income and AOI growth in 2026. Our commitment to being the ultimate partner for artists ensures we are set to compound this double-digit growth for years to come.” – Michael Rapino, President and CEO ARTIST MOMENTUM AND GLOBAL FAN PASSION FUELED RECORD-SETTING 2025 (vs FY24)
ARTISTS REACH NEW HEIGHTS: EARLY DEMAND SETS THE STAGE FOR GROWTH IN 2026 (through early February vs same period last year)
GLOBAL ARTIST REACH FUELED BEST-EVER FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN 2025 (vs FY24)
EARLY FAN DEMAND SIGNALS A RECORD 2026 FOR ARTISTS WORLDWIDE
EXPANDING THE ARTIST’S GLOBAL STAGE IN 2025: VENUE NATION UNLOCKS NEW MARKETS FOR TALENT (vs FY24)
VENUE NATION CONTINUES TO PROVIDE THE WORLD’S PREMIER ARTISTS WITH NEW PATHWAYS TO FANS
CONCERTS ACTIVITY LED TICKETMASTER GROWTH IN 2025 (vs FY24)
BOTH NORTH AMERICA AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS DRIVING GROWTH IN 2026 (through early February vs same period last year)
GLOBAL REACH UNLOCKS NEW BRAND PARTNERSHIPS FOR ARTISTS AND FANS IN 2025 (vs FY24)
STRONG 2026 OUTLOOK: EARLY FAN COMMITMENT SIGNALS A LANDMARK YEAR FOR ARTISTS
STRONG FREE CASH FLOW PROFILE
CAPITAL DEPLOYMENT TO SUPPORT VENUE OPPORTUNITIES
ADDITIONAL INCOME STATEMENT DETAILS FOR FULL YEAR 2026 (vs FY25)
Compare Our Operating Results to Past Quarters In The Trended Results Grid: The company will webcast a teleconference today, February 19, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time to discuss its financial performance, operational matters and potentially other material developments. Interested parties should visit the “News / Events” section of the company’s website at investors.livenationentertainment.com to listen to the webcast. Supplemental statistical and financial information to be provided on the call, if any, will be posted to the “Financial Info” section of the website. A replay of the webcast will also be available on the Live Nation website. The link to the 4Q25 Trended Results Grid is provided above for convenience and such grid is not a part of, or incorporated into, this press release or any SEC filings that include this press release. Notice Regarding Financial Statements About Live Nation Entertainment:
Forward-Looking Statements, Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations: Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to statements regarding record fan demand driving artist reach in 2026; momentum carrying the company into a record-breaking 2026; the depth of the company’s pipeline of large-scale shows and ticketing demand continuing its ascent, positioning the company for another year of double-digit operating income and adjusted operating income growth in 2026, and the company’s expectation that it will compound this double-digit growth for years to come; early indicators pointing to strong festival demand in 2026; expectations for Venue Nation fan growth in 2026; early fan demand signaling a record 2026 for artists worldwide; expectations that 2026 will be a record year for the company’s concerts business, with global fan attendance projected to grow high-single digits; expectations for adjusted operating income growth for the company’s concerts business in 2026; projected run-rate achievement and IRR for venues opened in 2025; the expectation that large venues opening through new builds and acquisitions planned for 2026 will add five to seven million fans on a run-rate basis, with over half in international markets; anticipated 2026 preopening costs for all venues under development and their projected date for annual run-rate achievement and resulting IRRs; the expectation that both North American and international markets will drive ticketing growth in 2026, with primary fee-bearing GTV anticipated to grow mid to high-single digits with concerts contributing the majority of this growth; the anticipated impact to ticketing adjusted operating income from ongoing initiatives to combat scalpers and bots; upward momentum in 2026 for the company’s sponsorship and advertising business, with adjusted operating income growth expected to be heavily driven by venue portfolio expansion and global festivals; expected full-year 2026 adjusted operating income to free cash flow—adjusted conversion rates; expectations for full-year 2026 capital expenditures and details of anticipated projects; and full-year 2026 expectations for depreciation and amortization expense, interest expense net of interest income, tax expense and cash taxes, accretion expense, noncontrolling interest expense, and share count. Live Nation wishes to caution you that there are some known and unknown factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to operational challenges in achieving strategic objectives and executing on the company’s plans, the risk that the company’s markets do not evolve as anticipated, the potential impact of any economic slowdown and operational challenges associated with selling tickets and staging events. Live Nation refers you to the documents it files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, specifically the section titled “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of the company’s most recent Annual Report filed on Form 10-K, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its Current Reports on Form 8-K, which contain and identify other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the company’s projections or forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date on which they are made. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or concerning Live Nation are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. Live Nation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by SEC Regulation G. A reconciliation of each such measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, together with an explanation of why management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors, is provided herein. Adjusted Operating Income (Loss), or AOI, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we define as operating income (loss) before certain acquisition expenses (including ongoing legal costs stemming from the Ticketmaster merger, changes in the fair value of accrued acquisition-related contingent consideration obligations, and acquisition-related severance and compensation), amortization of non-recoupable ticketing contract advances, depreciation and amortization (including goodwill impairment), loss (gain) on disposal of operating assets, and stock-based compensation expense. Due to the significant and non-recurring nature of the matters, we also exclude from AOI the impact of realized liabilities for settlements or damages arising out of the Astroworld matter that exceed our estimated insurance recovery, and expenses for regulatory compliance matters associated with the provision for (possible) losses arising from certain significant governmental investigations and litigations under ASC 450 – Contingencies, which are described under the heading “Governmental Investigations and Litigation” in Note 7 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. Except as described above, ongoing legal costs associated with defense of these claims, such as attorney fees, are not excluded from AOI. We use AOI to evaluate the performance of our operating segments. We believe that information about AOI assists investors by allowing them to evaluate changes in the operating results of our portfolio of businesses separate from non-operational factors that affect net income (loss), thus providing insights into both operations and the other factors that affect reported results. AOI is not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP. A limitation of the use of AOI as a performance measure is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain amortizing assets used in generating revenue in our business. Accordingly, AOI should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, operating income (loss), net income (loss), and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, AOI as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. AOI margin is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate by dividing AOI by revenue. We use AOI margin to evaluate the performance of our operating segments. We believe that information about AOI margin assists investors by allowing them to evaluate changes in the operating results of our portfolio of businesses separate from non-operational factors that affect net income (loss), thus providing insights into both operations and the other factors that affect reported results. AOI margin is not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP. A limitation of the use of AOI margin as a performance measure is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain amortizing assets used in generating revenue in our business. Accordingly, AOI margin should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, operating income (loss) margin, and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, AOI margin as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Constant Currency is a non-GAAP financial measure when applied to a GAAP financial measure. We calculate currency impacts as the difference between current period activity translated using the current period’s currency exchange rates and the comparable prior period’s currency exchange rates. We present constant currency information to provide a framework for assessing how our underlying businesses performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations. Free Cash Flow — Adjusted, or FCF, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we define as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less changes in operating assets and liabilities, less maintenance capital expenditures, less distributions to noncontrolling interest partners. We use FCF among other measures, to evaluate the ability of operations to generate cash that is available for purposes other than maintenance capital expenditures. We believe that information about FCF provides investors with an important perspective on the cash available to service debt, make acquisitions, and for revenue generating capital expenditures. FCF is not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP. A limitation of the use of FCF as a performance measure is that it does not necessarily represent funds available for operations and is not necessarily a measure of our ability to fund our cash needs. Accordingly, FCF should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, net cash provided by (used in) operating activities and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, FCF as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Free Cash is a non-GAAP financial measure that we define as cash and cash equivalents less ticketing-related client funds, less event-related deferred revenue, less accrued expenses due to artists and cash collected on behalf of others, plus event-related prepaids. We use free cash as a proxy for how much cash we have available to, among other things, optionally repay debt balances, make acquisitions and fund revenue generating capital expenditures. Free cash is not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP. A limitation of the use of free cash as a performance measure is that it does not necessarily represent funds available from operations and it is not necessarily a measure of our ability to fund our cash needs. Accordingly, free cash should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, cash and cash equivalents and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, free cash as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.
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LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT FULL YEAR AND FOURTH QUARTER 2025 RESULTS
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