After a month that overshadowed some favorable earnings reports and robust global patterns, music stocks experienced a relief from the bleakness that has impacted the economy since tariffs were enacted by the Trump administration on Canada, Mexico, and European nations.
Tencent Music Entertainment saw its shares increase by 11.6% to $14.00 following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings announcement on Tuesday (March 18), revealing significant growth in both its subscriber base and subscription revenues. The Chinese streaming firm reported revenue exceeding $1 billion in the fourth quarter, marking an 8.2% rise, while net profit surged by 47.3% to $284 million. Furthermore, Tencent Music disclosed two developments that often elicit a positive response from investors: a dividend and a $1 billion share buyback initiative.
The Billboard Global Music Index climbed 3.0% to 2,533.53, with 12 of its 20 stocks experiencing gains, seven seeing declines, and one remaining unchanged. After suffering a tariff-related four-week downturn, the S&P 500 gained 0.5%, while the Nasdaq composite rose by 0.2%. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 ended a two-week losing streak with a 0.2% increase. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index also improved by 3.0%. Conversely, China’s SSE Composite Index fell by 1.6%.
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Music streaming platform LiveOne saw an increase of 13.3% after it reported it surpassed 1.3 million subscribers and ad-supported users. The index’s third-best performer, K-pop firm SM Entertainment, jumped 10.0% to 100,300 KRW ($68.46).
A few companies that had struggled since mid-February performed better this week. iHeartMedia improved by 9.3% to $1.76, reducing its year-to-date loss to 17.4%. Madison Square Garden Entertainment rose by 7.6% to $33.85, marking its first weekly gain in four weeks. Live Nation also ended its four-week losing streak, rising by 3.2% to $123.06.
Satellite radio company SiriusXM shares increased by 3.5% to $23.47. On Thursday, the firm announced the appointment of Anjali Sud, chief executive officer of on-demand video streaming service Tubi, as an independent director on its board. Despite a 39.5% decline over the past year, SiriusXM shares have recently bounced back, showing a 5.0% gain year to date.
French streaming service Deezer’s shares dropped by 6.0% to 1.41 euros ($1.53) following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings announcement on Tuesday (March 18). Deezer’s revenue increased by 12% to $591 million, but its subscriber count decreased by 3.1% to 9.7 million (the decline was more pronounced for Deezer due to the removal of 500,000 inactive family accounts from its 2023 subscriber total). Despite this week’s downturn, Deezer shares are up 7.6% year to date.
The biggest loser of the week, JYP Entertainment, plummeted by 12.2% following the K-pop company’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings announcement on Tuesday (March 18). Revenue rose by 26.8% in the fourth quarter and by 6.2% for the entire year, yet operating profit fell by 2.6% in the quarter and 24.3% for the year due to decreased album sales, a higher share of management revenue, and the introduction of new artist lineups.
- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
