Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) vs. LiveOne (NASDAQ:LVO) Head-To-Head Analysis

LiveOne (NASDAQ:LVO) and Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares LiveOne and Warner Music Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LiveOne	-25.87%	N/A	-39.66%
Warner Music Group	9.20%	85.50%	7.00%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares LiveOne and Warner Music Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LiveOne	$77.29 million	0.49	-$20.97 million	($1.75)	-1.59
Warner Music Group	$6.71 billion	2.41	$365.00 million	$1.26	24.49

Warner Music Group has higher revenue and earnings than LiveOne. LiveOne is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Warner Music Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

LiveOne has a beta of 1.67, indicating that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Warner Music Group has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

21.2% of LiveOne shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.9% of Warner Music Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.8% of LiveOne shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Warner Music Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for LiveOne and Warner Music Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LiveOne	1	0	1	0	2.00
Warner Music Group	1	3	11	1	2.75

LiveOne currently has a consensus target price of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 258.42%. Warner Music Group has a consensus target price of $38.27, indicating a potential upside of 24.02%. Given LiveOne’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe LiveOne is more favorable than Warner Music Group.

Summary

Warner Music Group beats LiveOne on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LiveOne

LiveOne, Inc., a digital media company, engages in the acquisition, distribution, and monetization of live music, Internet radio, podcasting/vodcasting, and music-related streaming and video content. It operates LiveXLive, a live music streaming platform; PodcastOne, a podcasting platform; and Slacker, an integrated membership and advertising streaming music service, as well as produces original music-related content. The company also produces, edits, curates, and streams live music events through broadband transmission over the Internet and satellite networks to its users; provides digital Internet radio and music services to users online and through automotive and mobile original equipment manufacturers on a white label basis; and offers ancillary products and services, such as regulatory and post-implementation support services. In addition, it develops, manufactures, and distributes personalized merchandise and gifts through wholesale and direct-to-consumer distribution channels. Further, the company offers LiveOne App, an application that provides access to live events, audio streams, original episodic content, podcasts, vodcasts, video on demand, real-time livestreams, and social sharing of content. The company was formerly known as LiveXLive Media, Inc. and changed its name to LiveOne, Inc. in October 2021. LiveOne, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin’ Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville. This segment markets, distributes, and sells music and video products to retailers and wholesale distributors; independent labels to retail and wholesale distributors; and various distribution centers and ventures, as well as retail outlets, online physical retailers, streaming services, and download services. The Music Publishing segment owns and acquires rights to approximately one million musical compositions comprising pop hits, American standards, folk songs, and motion picture and theatrical compositions. Its catalog includes approximately 150,000 songwriters and composers; and various genres, including pop, rock, jazz, classical, country, R&B, hip-hop, rap, reggae, Latin, folk, blues, symphonic, soul, Broadway, electronic, alternative, and gospel. This segment also administers the music and soundtracks of various third-party television and film producers and studios. The company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in New York, New York.