Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT – Get Free Report) and Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV – Get Free Report) are both large-cap communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends and valuation.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Spotify Technology and Live Nation Entertainment, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Spotify Technology | 0 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 2.79 |
| Live Nation Entertainment | 0 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 2.83 |
Spotify Technology presently has a consensus target price of $594.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.31%. Live Nation Entertainment has a consensus target price of $197.19, indicating a potential upside of 16.75%. Given Live Nation Entertainment’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Live Nation Entertainment is more favorable than Spotify Technology.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Spotify Technology | $19.44 billion | 5.41 | $2.50 billion | $16.06 | 31.83 |
| Live Nation Entertainment | $25.20 billion | 1.58 | -$54.83 million | ($1.13) | -149.47 |
Spotify Technology has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Live Nation Entertainment. Live Nation Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Spotify Technology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Spotify Technology has a beta of 1.59, meaning that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Live Nation Entertainment has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
84.1% of Spotify Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.5% of Live Nation Entertainment shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Spotify Technology shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Live Nation Entertainment shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Spotify Technology and Live Nation Entertainment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Spotify Technology | 18.44% | 41.39% | 23.78% |
| Live Nation Entertainment | 0.34% | 54.61% | 1.78% |
Summary
Spotify Technology beats Live Nation Entertainment on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Spotify Technology
Spotify Technology S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides audio streaming subscription services worldwide. It operates through two segments, Premium and Ad-Supported. The Premium segment offers unlimited online and offline streaming access to its catalog of music and podcasts without commercial breaks to its subscribers. This segment sells directly to the end users. The Ad-Supported segment provides on-demand online access to its catalog of music and unlimited online access to the catalog of podcasts to its users on their computers, tablets, and compatible mobile devices. The company also offers sales, distribution and marketing, contract research and development, and customer and other support services. Spotify Technology S.A. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
About Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. operates as a live entertainment company worldwide. It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues. This segment operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists. The Ticketing segment manages the ticketing operations, including the provision of ticketing software and services to clients and consumers with marketplace for tickets and event information through mobile apps, other websites, retail outlets, and its primary websites, such as livenation.com and ticketmaster.com; and provides ticket resale services. This segment sells tickets for its events and third-party clients in various live event categories. This segment offers ticketing services for arenas, stadiums, amphitheaters, music clubs, concert promoters, professional sports franchises and leagues, college sports teams, performing arts venues, museums, and theaters. The Sponsorship & Advertising segment sells international, national, and local sponsorships and placement of advertising, including signage, online, and promotional programs; rich media offering that comprises advertising related with live streaming and music-related content; and ads across its distribution network of venues, events, and websites. This segment also manages the development of strategic sponsorship programs, as well as develops, books, and produces custom events or programs for specific brands. It owns, operates, or leases entertainment venues. The company was formerly known as Live Nation, Inc. and changed its name to Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. in January 2010. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
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