What happened
Shares of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV -2.37%) fell 38% in the first half of 2020, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The leading ticket vendor and arranger of live events was essentially shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
So what
The Ticketmaster parent saw first-quarter sales fall 21% year over year because the social distancing guidelines of the coronavirus era made live concerts impossible in the middle of March. The company raised $1.2 billion of additional cash near the end of May to keep the lights on while the revenue-generating turnstiles are closed. Live Nation will not be generating any meaningful revenues until the concert circuit opens up again.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
The company is trying to reschedule rather than issue refunds for events that were planned before the virus outbreak, and artists will be expected to shoulder a larger part of the financial risk associated with live events in the future. Live Nation is also trying some unconventional ideas, such as drive-in concerts and online live streams.
"Throughout all this, we are still motivated by the long-term potential of global live events," CEO Michael Rapino said in Live Nation's first-quarter earnings call. "Live Nation is in the best position in the live ecosystem to play long and to capture new opportunities, continue leading the industry into the future."
I'm sure that Rapino is right, and Live Nation doesn't have any competition to speak of in many of its largest markets. But the return to reasonable financial health could take years, so the low stock prices make perfect sense. You could make money on this stock in the long run, but this ticker is for extremely patient investors only.
