WMG

Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Warner Music Group (WMG) stock has been in focus after the company reported Q1 revenue growth of 16.7% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 7.5%, with the shares up 11.6% since the release. See our latest analysis for Warner Music Group. Beyond the immediate Q1 reaction, momentum in Warner Music Group’s stock has been building, with a 30 day share price return of 19.97% and a 1 year total shareholder return of 35.85% as investors respond to stronger earnings expectations, recent sustainability initiatives in vinyl production, and upcoming investor presentations such as the J.P. Morgan conference. If you are drawing conclusions from Warner Music Group’s recent move, it can help to see what else is gaining attention in related areas, starting with 20 top founder-led companies With Warner Music Group’s shares up strongly over the past year, revenue at $7.1b and analysts setting an average price target of $38.12 versus a recent $34.72, is there still a potential opportunity here, or is the market already pricing in future growth? Warner Music Group’s most followed narrative pegs fair value at $38.12, above the last close at $34.72, putting analyst expectations under the microscope. Read the complete narrative. Curious what kind of revenue mix and margin profile need to hold for that fair value to stack up. The narrative leans heavily on compounding earnings, richer per user economics, and a future valuation multiple that assumes investors keep rewarding that profit trajectory. Result: Fair Value of $38.12 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, pressure on operating and free cash flow from heavier A&R spend, along with execution risk around the $1.2b Bain catalog venture, could challenge that upbeat case. Find out about the key risks to this Warner Music Group narrative. Analysts’ fair value work suggests Warner Music Group is 24.7% below intrinsic value, yet the current P/E of 40.5x is much higher than both the estimated fair ratio of 28.9x and the US Entertainment industry average of 31x. That gap can signal valuation risk if expectations cool. The open question is which signal carries more weight right now. See what the numbers say about this price —...

Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q1 behind us, let’s have a look at Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) and its peers. The Consumer Discretionary sector, by definition, is made up of companies selling non-essential goods and services. When economic conditions deteriorate or tastes shift, consumers can easily cut back or eliminate these purchases. For long-term investors with five-year holding periods, this creates a structural challenge: the sector is inherently hit-driven, with low switching costs and fickle customers. As a result, only a handful of companies can reliably grow demand and compound earnings over long periods, which is why our bar is high and High Quality ratings are rare. Media companies create, aggregate, and distribute content—including news, entertainment, and advertising—across television, print, digital, and out-of-home channels. Tailwinds include growing digital advertising budgets, content licensing opportunities, and global audience expansion through streaming and social platforms. Headwinds are substantial: traditional advertising revenue from print and linear TV continues its structural decline as audiences migrate to digital alternatives. Content creation costs are escalating amid intense competition for talent and intellectual property. Media fragmentation makes it difficult to build sustainable audience scale, while AI-generated content threatens to commoditize production and disrupt established business models. The 7 consumer discretionary - media stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.9%. In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results. Launching the careers of legendary artists like Frank Sinatra, Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) is a music company managing a diverse portfolio of artists, recordings, and music publishing services worldwide. Warner Music Group reported revenues of $1.73 billion, up 16.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 7.5%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS and revenue estimates. Warner Music Group scored the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 11.6% since reporting and current...

Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) appears an attractive pick given a noticeable improvement in the company's earnings outlook. The stock has been a strong performer lately, and the momentum might continue with analysts still raising their earnings estimates for the company. Analysts' growing optimism on the earnings prospects of this company is driving estimates higher, which should get reflected in its stock price. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements. Our stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is principally built on this insight. The five-grade Zacks Rank system, which ranges from a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record of outperformance, with Zacks #1 Ranked stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 2008. For Warner Music Group Corp., there has been strong agreement among the covering analysts in raising earnings estimates, which has helped push consensus estimates considerably higher for the next quarter and full year. The chart below shows the evolution of forward 12-month Zacks Consensus EPS estimate: The earnings estimate of $0.38 per share for the current quarter represents a change of +1,366.7% from the number reported a year ago. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Warner Music Group has increased 6.59% over the last 30 days, as two estimates have gone higher while one has gone lower. For the full year, the earnings estimate of $1.52 per share represents a change of +120.3% from the year-ago number. The revisions trend for the current year also appears quite promising for Warner Music Group, with four estimates moving higher over the past month compared to no negative revisions. The consensus estimate has also received a boost over this time frame, increasing 7.74%. The promising estimate revisions have helped Warner Music Group earn a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Rank is a tried-and-tested rating tool that helps investors effectively harness the power of earnings estimate revisions and make the right investment decision.You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Our research shows that stocks with Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and 2 (Buy) significantly outperform the S&P 500. Warner Music Group shares have added 19.3% over...

Warner Music Group delivered a first quarter that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, supported by broad-based growth in streaming, catalog optimization, and operational efficiencies. Management emphasized the impact of new artist releases and effective catalog marketing, highlighting a strong pipeline of both emerging and established talent. CEO Robert Kyncl pointed to the group’s “always-on marketing approach” and success in revitalizing legacy content as key contributors to the quarter’s results. The company also cited the effective rollout of price per subscriber (PSM) increases and ongoing cost discipline as reasons for the substantial margin expansion. Is now the time to buy WMG? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $1.73 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.61 billion (16.7% year-on-year growth, 7.5% beat) Adjusted EPS: $0.43 vs analyst estimates of $0.29 (46.6% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $397 million vs analyst estimates of $356 million (22.9% margin, 11.5% beat) Operating Margin: 15.2%, up from 11.3% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $17.05 billion While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Peter Lawler Supino (Wolfe Research) asked about the sustainability of recent market share gains. CEO Robert Kyncl emphasized that share growth resulted from long-term foundational work and organizational changes, stating, “Our gains are not in one region or one country...it is broad based.” Benjamin Thomas Black (Deutsche Bank) inquired about the breakdown of subscription streaming growth and the impact of pricing, market share, and comparables. CFO Armin Zerza detailed the growth components and highlighted further upside from pricing, M&A, and AI partnerships. Jason Bazinet (Citi) posed three questions on AI: dilution from AI-generated music, the Suno partnership, and the timing of consumer-facing AI music tools. CEO Kyncl reported no material dilution and described ongoing work with partners to develop interactive music offerings. Kannan Venkateshwar (Barclays) asked how Warner Music Group will achieve long-term margin targets and whether catalog deals can sustain market share....

Shareholders appeared to be happy with Warner Music Group Corp.'s (NASDAQ:WMG) solid earnings report last week. This reaction by the market reaction is understandable when looking at headline profits and we have found some further encouraging factors. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. To properly understand Warner Music Group's profit results, we need to consider the US$324m expense attributed to unusual items. While deductions due to unusual items are disappointing in the first instance, there is a silver lining. When we analysed the vast majority of listed companies worldwide, we found that significant unusual items are often not repeated. And that's hardly a surprise given these line items are considered unusual. If Warner Music Group doesn't see those unusual expenses repeat, then all else being equal we'd expect its profit to increase over the coming year. That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates. Unusual items (expenses) detracted from Warner Music Group's earnings over the last year, but we might see an improvement next year. Because of this, we think Warner Music Group's earnings potential is at least as good as it seems, and maybe even better! And we are pleased to note that EPS is at least heading in the right direction over the last three years. At the end of the day, it's essential to consider more than just the factors above, if you want to understand the company properly. In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. Be aware that Warner Music Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis and 1 of those can't be ignored... This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Warner Music Group's profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with significant insider holdings to be useful. Have feedback on...

In early May 2026, Warner Music Group reported second-quarter sales of US$1,732 million and net income of US$183 million, both higher than a year earlier, while also highlighting margin expansion and stronger streaming and catalog performance across Recorded Music and Music Publishing. On the same day, Paramount Pictures and Warner Music Group announced a multi-year, first-look theatrical film deal built around Warner’s artist roster, underscoring how the company is increasingly turning its music catalog into broader visual media franchises. We’ll now examine how Warner’s stronger-than-expected earnings, combined with the new Paramount film partnership, influence its existing investment narrative. AI is about to change healthcare. These 35 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10b in market cap - there's still time to get in early. To own Warner Music Group, you need to believe in its ability to turn a valuable catalog and growing streaming base into steadily improving margins and cash generation. The latest quarter’s stronger revenue and earnings help ease immediate worries about cash flow pressure, while the main near term risk still sits in heavy catalog spending and A&R investment, which could weigh on financial flexibility if monetization lags. The Paramount deal supports the story, but its impact will likely be gradual rather than immediate. Among recent announcements, the Netflix first look deal for artist documentaries sits closest to the new Paramount partnership. Together, they show Warner pushing its catalog further into film and long form content, widening the ways existing IP can earn over time. For investors focused on catalysts, these media partnerships add an extra layer on top of subscription streaming, but they also raise questions about execution and how quickly new formats can become meaningful to profits. Yet behind the upbeat headlines, there is still a real risk investors should be aware of if... Read the full narrative on Warner Music Group (it's free!) Warner Music Group's narrative projects $8.1 billion revenue and $995.8 million earnings by 2029. This requires 5.6% yearly revenue growth and a $693.8 million earnings increase from $302.0 million today. Uncover how Warner Music Group's forecasts yield a $36.18 fair value, a 17% upside to its current price. The m...

Interested in Warner Music Group Corp.? Here are five stocks we like better. Warner Music Group delivered a strong fiscal Q2, with revenue up 12%, adjusted OIBDA up 24% and adjusted EPS rising 38% to $0.44, driven by gains in streaming, publishing and physical sales. Streaming growth and market share gains were a major highlight, as recorded music subscription streaming revenue increased 15% on an adjusted basis and the company said its U.S. streaming share rose 1.1 percentage points. Management is bullish on margins and AI, saying it now expects to reach the high end of its 150 to 200 basis point margin-expansion target for fiscal 2026 while pursuing AI licensing deals and new monetization opportunities for catalog music. Big 3 Music Giant Warner: Streaming Boom Sends Shares Higher Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) reported stronger fiscal second-quarter results, with executives saying the company’s growth strategy is gaining traction across streaming, catalog monetization, distribution and cost efficiency. On the company’s earnings call for the period ended March 31, 2026, CEO Robert Kyncl said total revenue rose 12%, adjusted OIBDA increased 24% and margins expanded by more than 200 basis points. He said the quarter was supported by a 15% increase in recorded music subscription streaming revenue on an adjusted basis, helped by execution across operating units and the implementation of contractual “PSM” increases that began during the quarter. → Insider Sales: Top AST SpaceMobile Insider Cuts Postion Over 30% How to Invest in Music Stocks “Our strong Q2 results prove that our strategy is working,” Kyncl said. “We are demonstrating the benefits of our transformation.” CFO Armin Zerza said total revenue grew 12% in the quarter, with double-digit increases in both Recorded Music and Music Publishing. Recorded Music revenue rose 13%, led by subscription streaming, which grew 15% on an adjusted basis. Ad-supported streaming increased 11% on an adjusted basis. → Light Speed Returns: Corning Cashes In on NVIDIA Growth The Market Is Suddenly All Ears on Warner Music Group Zerza attributed the streaming gains to healthy market growth, global market share gains and the benefit of PSM increases. He said subscription streaming growth included roughly 6% to 7% from global subscriber growth, about 3 percentage points from pricing, about 3 percentage points from market sha...

Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.44 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.3 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.07 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +48.35%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.4 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.33, delivering a surprise of -17.5%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates just once. Warner Music Group, which belongs to the Zacks Film and Television Production and Distribution industry, posted revenues of $1.73 billion for the quarter ended March 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.22%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.48 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Warner Music Group shares have lost about 1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 7.6%. While Warner Music Group has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Warner Music Group was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can se...

(Bloomberg) -- CoreWeave Inc. shares are on a scorching run in 2026 as demand for computing capacity to power artificial intelligence keeps growing. But now investors want to see some proof that the neo-cloud provider is executing on its ambitious plans. Most Read from Bloomberg Billionaire Duke of Westminster to Sell £700 Million of US Real Estate Assets US Has Opened a Passage Through Hormuz, Central Command Says DOJ Plans Intervention in Trump Supreme Court Carroll Appeal China Asks Banks to Pause New Loans to US-Sanctioned Refiner Sony to Pay Almost $4 Billion for Bieber, Neil Young Catalog The chance arrives when CoreWeave reports earnings after the bell on Thursday. Recent results from the biggest AI spenders like Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. made it clear that the need for computing power is insatiable as capital expenditures continue to rise. Considering the company rents access to AI infrastructure featuring the latest chips from Nvidia Corp., that plays right into its hands. “There is an insane amount of demand for AI compute,” said Tejas Dessai, director of thematic research at Global X ETFs. “The backdrop is extremely positive for CoreWeave.” Investors will be closely monitoring CoreWeave’s revenue acceleration, its outlook for the rest of the year and its backlog heading into 2027, he said. The stock is up 78% this year and a stunning 218% since the Livingston, New Jersey-based company went public in March 2025. The latest rally got going roughly a month ago as investors regained faith in the AI trade and CoreWeave announced deals with Meta, Anthropic PBC and Jane Street Group in quick succession. CoreWeave shares were down as much as 9.1% in intraday trading Thursday after rallying 7.9% on Wednesday. Of the 36 analysts tracked by Bloomberg who follow CoreWeave, 23 have buy ratings on the stock and only two have sells. But their average 12-month price target of $131 is below where the shares closed Wednesday, even though it’s been rising over the past six months. Wall Street expects the company to report revenue of nearly $2 billion in the first quarter, twice what it posted a year ago, and a loss of $1.20 per share, which would be an improvement from a loss of $1.49 a share in the first quarter of 2025. CoreWeave’s revenue backlog was nearly $67 billion as of Dec. 31, and the recent deals should raise its remaining performance obligati...

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. ET Chief Executive Officer — Robert Kyncl Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer — Armin Zerza Head of Investor Relations — Kareem Chin Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Operator: [inaudible] Welcome to Warner Music Group Corp.'s Second Quarter Earnings Call for the period ended March 31, 2026. At the request of Warner Music Group Corp., today's call is being recorded for replay purposes. If you object, you may disconnect at any time. Now I would like to turn today's call over to your host, Kareem Chin, Head of Investor Relations. You may begin. Good afternoon, and welcome to Warner Music Group Corp.'s fiscal second quarter earnings call. Kareem Chin: Please note that our earnings press release, earnings snapshot, and Form 10-Q are available on our website. On today's call, we have our CEO, Robert Kyncl, and our CFO, Armin Zerza, who will take you through our results and then answer your questions. Before our prepared remarks, I would like to remind you that this communication includes forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Warner Music Group Corp. regarding future events and financial performance. We plan to present certain non-GAAP results, including metrics that are adjusted for notable items, during this conference call and in our earnings materials, and have provided schedules reconciling these results to our GAAP results in our earnings press release. All of these materials are posted on our website. Also, please note that all revenue figures and comparisons discussed today will be presented in constant currency unless otherwise noted. All forward-looking statements are made as of today, and we disclaim any duty to update such statements. Our expectations, beliefs, and projections are expressed in good faith, and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs, or projections will be realized or achieved. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements as they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that can cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Information concerning these risk factors is contained in our filings with the SEC, and with that, I will turn it over to Robert. Hello, everyone, and...

For the quarter ended March 2026, Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) reported revenue of $1.73 billion, up 16.7% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.44, compared to $0.07 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.63 billion, representing a surprise of +6.22%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +48.35%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.30. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how Warner Music Group performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Revenue- Total Recorded Music: $1.38 billion compared to the $1.28 billion average estimate based on two analysts. Revenue- Music Publishing: $353 million compared to the $337.37 million average estimate based on two analysts. Revenue- Corporate expenses and eliminations: $-1 million compared to the $-1.53 million average estimate based on two analysts. Revenue- Recorded Music- Digital: $975 million versus $933.05 million estimated by two analysts on average. Revenue- Recorded Music- Physical: $137 million versus $107.23 million estimated by two analysts on average. Revenue- Recorded Music- Total Digital and Physical: $1.11 billion versus the two-analyst average estimate of $1.04 billion. Revenue- Music Publishing- Other: $4 million compared to the $3.98 million average estimate based on two analysts. Revenue- Recorded Music- Licensing: $104 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $108.68 million. Revenue- Music Publishing- Performance: $58 million compared to the $55.4 million average estimate based on two analysts. Revenue- Music Publishing- Digital: $224 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $209.62 million. Revenue- Music Publishing- Mechanical: $17 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $15.71 million. Revenue- Music Publishing- Synchronization: $50 million compared to the $52.68 million average estimate based on two analysts. Vie...

Warner Music Group (WMG) reported fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings late Thursday of $0.44 per share, up f