As Live Nation grapples with a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice to break up the company, CFO Joe Berchtold expressed optimism about the lawsuit and the company’s future.
“I expect we will prevail,” Berchtold said at a Bank of America conference Wednesday. “I don’t expect there to be any major changes in how we operate through the process. We have to go through the DOJ, but you know, I can’t ultimately control some of the policies, so we’ll continue to build each of the businesses to the best of our ability.”
“We're going back and forth with the Department of Justice,” he added. “I think next year will be a period of investigation and depositions, and then the trial will start in early '26 if nothing happens between now and then that allows us to come to an agreed-upon resolution.”
The lawsuit, filed in May by the DOJ and now by 39 states and the District of Columbia, alleges that Live Nation has used its position as the world’s largest concert promoter, ticket seller, through its acquisition of Ticketmaster, and venue owner to weaken competition. The lawsuit seeks a separation of Ticketmaster from Live Nation, among other remedies.
Asked how important Ticketmaster is to Live Nation’s business model, Berchtold called it a “nice complement,” but said the company operates the two businesses “very separately.”
“I think it's a nice addition. We think it gives us the ability to earn more on the risk we take in putting on the concert, which we think is reasonable,” he said.
Despite the ongoing lawsuit, Bank of America initiated coverage on Live Nation Entertainment on Wednesday with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of $125, citing changing consumer behavior toward spending on experiences, continued demand for live events and performers, and increased sponsorships, among other factors. The note added that the company’s potential breakup is already factored into the stock price, which is trading around $95.
“In our view, a potential split of the company is widely priced in. We believe standalone Ticketmaster would trade at around 12.5x AOI while standalone Live Nation would command around 14x. While growth could potentially be slightly hampered, we believe it would still be solid for both entities if separated given strong fundamentals and numerous tailwinds,” the note reads.
During Wednesday's conference call, Berchtold added that the company has seen no signs of fans slowing down on ticket purchases and has seen a continued increase in artists eager to tour, with expansion globally.
However, fans have recently complained about the annoying experience of purchasing tickets for the Oasis reunion tour. Fans famously had trouble purchasing tickets for the Taylor Swift: Eras Tour in November 2023, which led to a Senate hearing and further scrutiny.
Berchtold did not specifically address Oasis, but said the company needs to create a “better experience” for consumers, in part by displaying prices upfront and taking tougher measures to combat bots.
“We're very big advocates of giving artists more control over how their tickets are distributed and ultimately resold,” Berchtold said. “But the foundation of that is better communication, better transparency. How do we let fans know what to expect, what's going on? You know, I'd love to make the front row a mile wide and cost $39. That's not reality. So I understand that Ticketmaster is inherently going to take flak sometimes when 10 million people want to buy a million tickets, and then 90 percent of people are going to be inherently unhappy. That's the nature of the industry we're in. But we can absolutely do a better job of some of the pieces of setting expectations in terms of what fans should see.”