Demand for Taylor Swift and Others’ Concerts Lifts Live Nation Sales to Q1 Record

Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) shares surged over 7% Friday as demand for tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and other concert performances helped propel the company’s sales to a record in the first quarter.

Q1 Sales Record

The concert promoter and owner of the Ticketmaster ticket outlet reported first-quarter revenue soared 21% year-over-year to $3.8 billion, an all-time high for the first three months of the year and better than estimates. However, its loss of 53 cents per share was greater than expected.

Concert sales jumped 26% to $2.9 billion. Ticketmaster sales advanced 7% to $723.2 million, while sponsorship and advertising revenue climbed 24% to $211.3 million.

First-quarter show attendance gained 21% to 23 million and the company reported selling a record 77 million fee-bearing tickets.

‘Demand Is Stronger Than Ever’

CEO Michael Rapino said the results indicate that “live events remain a priority for fans around the world.” He said “demand is stronger than ever,” with more artists out on the road, and more venues being added for performances.

It hasn’t hurt that one of those artists is Taylor Swift, with the Eras Tour reportedly becoming the first in history to surpass $1 billion in gross revenue.

Live Nation shares also likely got a lift from comments by CFO Joe Berchtold, who told analysts it’s unlikely Live Nation and Ticketmaster will be broken up by regulators for violating antitrust laws. 

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment finished 7.2% higher at $94.66 Friday, bringing them into positive territory for the year.