Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group (WMG) managed to buck the trend of falling stock prices this week, with both companies seeing modest gains as they prepare to release their latest quarterly earnings reports.
UMG saw a 2.6% increase in its stock price to 28.11 euros ($30.61) ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday (July 24). Year-to-date, UMG shares are up 8.9%. On the other hand, WMG gained 3.5% to $32.00 after receiving positive feedback from Jefferies analysts. Despite being down 10.6% for the year, Jefferies believes WMG’s current price is attractive and expects the company to benefit from its upcoming releases and cost-saving measures.
The music industry as a whole faced a tough week, with the Billboard Global Music Index falling 2.9% and the Nasdaq composite dropping 3.6%. Tech stocks like Spotify also saw declines, with shares falling 2.4% to $295.09. However, LiveOne managed to see a 5.7% increase in its stock price following a positive preliminary earnings report.
K-pop stocks continued their losing streak, with companies like HYBE, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment all seeing declines. JYP Entertainment was the only outlier, gaining 2.6% for the week.
Overall, while the stock market faced challenges this week, UMG and WMG’s gains show that there are still opportunities for growth in the music industry. Investors will be eagerly awaiting the upcoming earnings reports to see how these companies have performed in a volatile market.
