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Live Nation said a heavier mix of stadium and amphitheater shows will push more of its 2026 concert growth into Q3, with management also expecting a strong Q4 and stronger adjusted operating income later in the year.
Executives described amphitheater demand as especially strong, with show counts and ticket sales tracking ahead of last year and ticket sales up by double digits as summer demand becomes clearer.
Management said global live event demand remains broad-based, while Ticketmaster is focusing on product improvements, AI tools and reducing broker-driven secondary ticketing as it expands in new markets.
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Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) executives said the company expects a greater share of its 2026 concert growth to land in the third quarter, driven by a heavier mix of stadium and amphitheater events, while management reiterated confidence in live event demand across regions and venue types.
On the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call, President and CFO Joe Berchtold said timing shifts this year reflect “very strong growth globally in stadiums and strong growth in amphitheaters in the U.S.” Because those venues skew toward the summer calendar, he said growth will be “more strongly in Q3 than it would be in the previous years.”
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Berchtold said that timing should translate into stronger adjusted operating income, or AOI, in the third quarter, with the company also “shaping up to have a very strong Q4.”
President and CEO Michael Rapino said Live Nation is seeing a strong 2026 for amphitheaters after focusing on increasing show supply. He said that by May the company has enough visibility into summer demand to assess performance, adding that amphitheater show count and ticket sales are tracking ahead of last year, with ticket sales up by double digits.
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Rapino also addressed recent cancellations, saying they are not unusual. He said Live Nation and the broader industry historically see a 1% to 2% cancellation rate, and that the company is tracking “slightly below the industry.”
“We see nothing about cancellations in 2026 full calendar that would be extraordinary,” Rapino said, adding that among roughly 15,000 shows on sale, about 100 cancellations would be typical.
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Rapino described amphitheaters as a lower-cost entry point compared with arenas and stadiums, calling them a “volume game.” He said early on-site spending indicators, premium sales and overall demand point to a strong year for the format.
Rapino said the global supply of touring artists continues to grow, with more performers from regions such as Latin America, Korea, Colombia and India touring internationally. He said that growth is filling venues from clubs to stadiums and supporting Live Nation’s global business.
“Latin America is on fire from small to big, to festivals,” Rapino said. He added that the company’s international business may be growing faster than its U.S. operations in some areas.
Berchtold later said Latin America helped drive concert and sponsorship performance in the quarter, including festivals that performed well. Looking ahead, he said North America and international markets are both performing strongly, with global stadiums up, U.S. stadiums up despite a strong prior year, and U.S. amphitheaters and arenas also tracking well.
Asked about Ticketmaster’s product priorities, Rapino said new leadership is focused on the product roadmap, including how to apply artificial intelligence to both consumer-facing and business-facing tools. He said a top priority remains making on-sales smoother, more transparent and more confidence-inspiring for fans.
Rapino also said Ticketmaster is working to build out its face-value exchange program so artists have more tools for ticket sales.
Berchtold said AI and other product approaches are helping the company move more quickly into new markets, including Latin America and Asia, particularly Japan. He said the company is looking to avoid constraints tied to legacy platforms while developing more flexible ticketing solutions.
On Ticketmaster’s secondary ticketing business, Berchtold said mid-single-digit headwinds cited by the company reflect “pretty dramatic steps” taken to limit broker inventory on the platform. He described the impact as a one-time structural step down. Berchtold said secondary ticketing is not a growth strategy for the company, but rather a feature meant to provide fans with a safe exchange.
“If we’re successful, it will decline into the single digits over the next several years,” Berchtold said of secondary ticketing’s share of fee-bearing gross transaction value.
Berchtold also said elevated legal expenses should moderate over the next few quarters, though some costs tied to the Federal Trade Commission and other activities are expected to continue.
Berchtold discussed a venue securitization transaction disclosed in the company’s 10-Q, saying it provides a funding vehicle for the venue side of the business. He described the structure as similar to a property company and operating company split, while keeping the assets under one roof for flexibility and control.
He said Live Nation completed an initial raise of just over 600 million euros using some venues as collateral. As the company adds venues, Berchtold said those assets can be added as collateral, allowing that component of the balance sheet to grow alongside the venue portfolio.
Rapino also highlighted the company’s stadium partnership model in Argentina, including arrangements with Club Atlético and River Stadium. He said similar partnerships could be replicated globally, particularly where stadiums have limited non-sports activity and could benefit from Live Nation’s concert booking and sponsorship expertise.
“We like building arenas, but we like on the stadium side, partnering with them,” Rapino said, describing the model as less capital intensive while still locking up revenue streams.
Berchtold said the company expects venue openings to accelerate in 2027 and 2028, though he declined to provide exact timing by year. He said Live Nation is opening “a couple great amps” this year along with theaters and other venues.
Rapino said Live Nation is not seeing demand weakness by geography, genre, demographic, venue size or price point. He said consumers still consider live shows an important part of their social calendars, whether they attend one, two or three shows per year.
“We’ve seen no demand pull back anywhere,” Rapino said, citing examples ranging from club shows to amphitheaters and expensive stadium events.
Rapino also said Middle East disruption does not currently affect the company’s business, calling the region a very small touring market today and saying Live Nation had no tours or shows planned there at the moment.
On premium hospitality, Rapino said the company sees significant opportunity to improve the concert experience through upgraded offerings such as better suites, boxes, hospitality, parking and shorter lines. He said new arenas under review could have up to 30% of the house in premium capacity, while some amphitheaters are being upgraded from 1% to 5% premium capacity toward as much as 25% over time.
Berchtold said Live Nation expects Venue Nation fan count to grow by double digits this year, with the increase coming from both better performance at existing venues and newly added venues. He said the company is not yet ready to provide specific expectations for additions in later years.
Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company's core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.
The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry's largest ticketing platforms.
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The article "Live Nation Entertainment Q1 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat.
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