Ticketmaster owner Live Nation Entertainment Inc (NYSE:LYV) exceeded fourth-quarter revenue expectations, driven by robust concert demand during the holiday season.
Both advertising and ticket revenues surged during the period as the post-pandemic trend of consumers increasing their spending on leisure continued.
Concerts from artists such as Jennifer Lopez and Sean Paul are scheduled for 2024, but the company warned that growth will be more weighted to the second half.
Total sales increased by 36% during the fourth quarter to US$5.84 billion, outpacing estimates of US$4.79 billion.
Some US$4.9 billion of the sales were generated through merchandise and the production of live music events, while a further US$740 million came from ticketing.
Despite this success, Live Nation encountered a larger-than-expected per-share loss per share of US$1.25, compared to estimates of US$1.04, reflecting the high costs associated with the increased demand for live events.
The overall number of fans dropped quarter-on-quarter from around 52 million to 37.5 million, despite the number of events having jumped 20% year-on-year to over 15,800.
Live Nation shares were up close to 3% in premarket trading on Friday.