Should You Buy Live Nation Entertainment Stock Before Feb. 19?
- - Should You Buy Live Nation Entertainment Stock Before Feb. 19?
Anders Bylund, The Motley FoolFebruary 17, 2026 at 6:47 AM
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Key Points -
Live Nation reports fourth-quarter results on Feb. 19, and the stock has underperformed the market over the past year.
Stadium shows drove strong Q3 profits, and management says 2026 ticket sales are already up double digits.
The stock trades at a P/E ratio of 115 and has delivered negative earnings surprises in three straight quarters.
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Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) reports fourth-quarter results on Feb. 19, and the stock has been treading water lately.
Shares are down by 4% over the past year while the broader market gained about 12%. If you've been eyeing the concert giant, you're facing a classic investor dilemma: Jump in now and risk a post-earnings dip, or wait for clarity and potentially miss a pop?
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The show must go on
Stadium shows were the star of Q3 2025, with the global show count up 60% year over year. A total of 120 additional events drove roughly $40 million in extra profit from the concert segment. Management is bullish on 2026, noting that ticket sales are already running double digits ahead of last year. The pipeline looks strong across venues of all sizes.
"What we're looking at is the leading indicators that have to do with our show pipeline," CFO Joe Berchtold said on the earnings call. "Tickets sold, sponsorships committed, deferred revenue -- a lot of factors are pointing extremely positively."
International growth is a big theme, too. Fan attendance outside the U.S. is on pace to exceed domestic numbers for the first time. Ticket sales are soaring in Latin America and several European countries.
Ticketmaster is playing nice, sort of
On the Ticketmaster front, the company has been cracking down hard on scalpers and bots, canceling over a million risky accounts in October 2025. That's good for fans and long-term brand health, but management admitted it'll ding near-term profits by a low-to-mid single-digit percentage.
More recently, Live Nation has been leaning into the ticket resale reform movement. The company supported Olivia Dean's decision to cap resale prices on her tour last fall, and in February alone has publicly backed legislative efforts in both New York and California to restrict resale markups. It's an important step away from the price-boosting effects of large-scale resellers, which drove tickets through the stadium roof for Taylor Swift's and Bruce Springsteen's tours in 2023, for example.
A crowd of people at a concert.
Image source: Getty Images.
Live Nation is also standing alongside artists calling for broader ticketing reform. This support is a bit of a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too play; Live Nation gets to look consumer-friendly while regulators are breathing down its neck, and tighter resale restrictions could eventually steer more transactions through Ticketmaster's primary platform anyway. The "dynamic pricing" system that led to outrageous prices in 2023 is still in effect, undermining the company's fan-friendly messaging.
Don't forget the Department of Justice's antitrust trial set for March. Discovery is done, and Live Nation seems confident in its legal position, but regulatory uncertainty tends to keep a lid on stock enthusiasm. Commentary about trial prep or potential outcomes could move the needle in any direction.
The earnings call cheat sheet
For Thursday specifically, investors should listen for updates on 2026 concert demand, any shift in consumer spending patterns (management claimed "no pullback anywhere" in Q3, but that was before the holiday season), and whether the Ticketmaster anti-fraud measures are still weighing on results.
I wouldn't load up on Live Nation stubs ahead of this call. The stock has been volatile over the last year. It trades in Wall Street's nosebleed seats with a price-to-earnings ratio of 115. Furthermore, the company's quarterly updates have been a mixed bag in recent years, including negative bottom-line surprises in the last three reports.
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Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Live Nation Entertainment. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Source: “AOL Money”
