Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion of our results of operations and financial condition with the unaudited interim financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2025 (the “Quarterly Report”).
“SAFE HARBOR” STATEMENT UNDER PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
This Quarterly Report includes forward-looking statements and cautionary statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “shall,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “seeks,” “aims,” “projects,” “is optimistic,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or other comparable terms or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this Quarterly Report and include, without limitation, our ability to compete in the highly competitive markets in which we operate, statements regarding our ability to develop talent and attract future talent, our ability to reduce future capital expenditures, our ability to monetize our music, including through new distribution channels and formats to capitalize on the growth areas of the music entertainment industry, our ability to effectively deploy our capital, the development of digital music and the effect of digital distribution channels on our business, including whether we will be able to achieve higher margins from digital sales, the success of strategic actions we are taking to accelerate our transformation as we redefine our role in the music entertainment industry, the effectiveness of our ongoing efforts to reduce overhead expenditures and manage our variable and fixed cost structure and our ability to generate expected cost savings from such efforts, our success in limiting piracy, the growth of the music entertainment industry and the effect of our and the industry’s efforts to combat piracy on the industry, our intention and ability to pay dividends or repurchase or retire our outstanding debt or notes in open market purchases, privately or otherwise, the impact on us of potential strategic transactions, our ability to fund our future capital needs and the effect of litigation on us.
Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes and that actual performance and outcomes, including, without limitation, our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the market in which we operate, may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report. In addition, even if our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, and the development of the market in which we operate, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. New factors emerge from time to time that may cause our business not to develop as we expect, and it is not possible for us to accurately predict all of them. Factors that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ from those reflected in forward-looking statements include, without limitation:
• our inability to compete successfully in the highly competitive markets in which we operate;
• our ability to identify, sign and retain recording artists and songwriters and the existence or absence of superstar releases;
• slower growth in streaming adoption and revenue;
• our dependence on a limited number of digital music services for the online distribution and marketing of our music and their ability to significantly influence the pricing structure for online music stores;
• the popular demand for particular recording artists and/or songwriters and music and the timely delivery to us of music by major recording artists and/or songwriters;
• risks related to the effects of climate change and natural or man-made disasters;
• the diversity and quality of our recording artists, songwriters and releases;
• trends, developments or other events in the United States and in some foreign countries in which we operate, including the impact of tariffs imposed or threatened by the U.S. or foreign governments;
• risks associated with our non-U.S. operations, including limited legal protections of our intellectual property rights and restrictions on the repatriation of capital;
• unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations;
• the impact of heightened and intensive competition in the recorded music and music publishing industries and our inability to execute our business strategy;
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• significant fluctuations in our operations, cash flows and the trading price of our common stock from period to period;
• our failure to attract and retain our executive officers and other key personnel;
• a significant portion of our revenues are subject to rate regulation either by government entities or by local third-party collecting societies throughout the world and rates on other income streams may be set by governmental proceedings, which may limit our profitability;
• risks associated with obtaining, maintaining, protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights;
• our involvement in intellectual property litigation;
• threats to our business associated with digital piracy, including organized industrial piracy;
• risks associated with the development and use of artificial intelligence;
• an impairment in the carrying value of goodwill or other intangible and long-lived assets;
• the impact of, and risks inherent in, acquisitions or other business combinations;
• risks inherent to our outsourcing certain finance and accounting functions;
• the fact that we have engaged in substantial restructuring activities in the past, and may need to implement further restructurings in the future and our restructuring efforts may not be successful or generate expected cost savings;
• our and our service providers’ ability to maintain the security of information relating to our customers, employees and vendors and our music;
• risks related to evolving laws and regulations concerning data privacy which might result in increased regulation and different industry standards;
• new legislation that affects the terms of our contracts with recording artists and songwriters;
• a potential loss of catalog if it is determined that recording artists have a right to recapture U.S. rights in their recordings under the U.S. Copyright Act;
• the impact of our substantial leverage on our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, on our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry and on our ability to meet our obligations under our indebtedness;
• the ability to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness, and the risk that we may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful;
• the fact that our debt agreements contain restrictions that may limit our flexibility in operating our business;
• the significant amount of cash required to service our indebtedness and the ability to generate cash or refinance indebtedness as it becomes due depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control;
• our indebtedness levels, and the fact that we may be able to incur substantially more indebtedness, which may increase the risks created by our substantial indebtedness;
• risks of downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of the rating assigned by a rating agency to us could impact our cost of capital;
• the dual class structure of our common stock and Access’s existing ownership of our Class B Common Stock have the effect of concentrating control over our management and affairs and over matters requiring stockholder approval with Access;
• the fact that we maintain certain cash deposits in excess of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits, which could have an adverse effect on liquidity and financial performance in the event of a bank failure or receivership; and
• risks related to other factors discussed under “Risk Factors” of this Quarterly Report and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024.
You should read this Quarterly Report completely and with the understanding that actual future results may be materially different from expectations. All forward-looking statements made in this Quarterly Report are qualified by these cautionary statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not undertake any obligation, other than as may be required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking or cautionary statements to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of events, unanticipated or otherwise, and changes in future operating results over time or otherwise.
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Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.
Other risks, uncertainties and factors, including those discussed in the “Risk Factors” of our Quarterly Reports and our Annual Report on Form 10-K, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements we make. You should read carefully the factors described in the “Risk Factors” section of our Quarterly Reports and our Annual Report on Form 10-K to better understand the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business and underlying any forward-looking statements.
INTRODUCTION
Warner Music Group Corp. (the “Company”) was formed on November 21, 2003. The Company is the direct parent of WMG Holdings Corp. (“Holdings”), which is the direct parent of WMG Acquisition Corp. (“Acquisition Corp.”). Acquisition Corp. is one of the world’s major music entertainment companies.
The Company and Holdings are holding companies that conduct substantially all of their business operations through their subsidiaries. The terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “ours” and the “Company” refer collectively to Warner Music Group Corp. and its consolidated subsidiaries, except where otherwise indicated.
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations (“MD&A”) is provided as a supplement to the unaudited financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere herein to help provide an understanding of our financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of our operations. MD&A is organized as follows:
• Business overview. This section provides a general description of our business, as well as a discussion of factors that we believe are important in understanding our results of operations and comparability and in anticipating future trends.
• Results of operations. This section provides an analysis of our results of operations for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024. This analysis is presented on both a consolidated and segment basis.
• Financial condition and liquidity. This section provides an analysis of our cash flows for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, as well as a discussion of our financial condition and liquidity as of June 30, 2025. The discussion of our financial condition and liquidity includes recent debt financings and a summary of the key debt covenant compliance measures under our debt agreements.
Use of Adjusted OIBDA
We evaluate our operating performance based on several factors, including our primary financial measure of operating income (loss) before non-cash depreciation of tangible assets and non-cash amortization of intangible assets adjusted to exclude the impact of non-cash stock-based compensation and other related expenses and certain items that affect comparability including but not limited to gains or losses on divestitures and expenses related to restructuring and transformation initiatives (“Adjusted OIBDA”). We consider Adjusted OIBDA to be an important indicator of the operational strengths and performance of our businesses. However, a limitation of the use of Adjusted OIBDA as a performance measure is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in our businesses. Accordingly, Adjusted OIBDA should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, operating income (loss), net income (loss) attributable to Warner Music Group Corp. and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). In addition, our definition of Adjusted OIBDA may differ from similarly titled measures used by other companies. A reconciliation of consolidated Adjusted OIBDA to operating income (loss) and net income (loss) attributable to Warner Music Group Corp. is provided in our “Results of Operations.”
Use of Constant Currency
As exchange rates are an important factor in understanding period to period comparisons, we believe the presentation of revenue and Adjusted OIBDA on a constant-currency basis in addition to reported results helps improve the ability to understand our operating results and evaluate our performance in comparison to prior periods. Constant-currency information compares revenue and Adjusted OIBDA between periods as if exchange rates had remained constant period over period. We use revenue and Adjusted OIBDA on a constant-currency basis as one measure to evaluate our performance. We calculate constant-currency by calculating prior-year revenue and Adjusted OIBDA using current-year foreign currency exchange rates. We generally refer to such amounts calculated on a constant-currency basis as “excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange rates.” Revenue and Adjusted OIBDA on a constant-currency basis should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, revenue and Adjusted OIBDA reported in
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accordance with U.S. GAAP. Revenue and Adjusted OIBDA on a constant-currency basis, as we present it, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and are not a measure of performance presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
We are one of the world’s leading music entertainment companies. Our renowned family of iconic record labels, including Atlantic Records, Warner Records, Elektra Records and Parlophone Records, is home to many of the world’s most popular and influential recording artists. In addition, Warner Chappell Music, our global music publishing business, boasts an extraordinary catalog that includes timeless standards and contemporary hits, representing works by over 180,000 songwriters and composers, with a global collection of more than one and a half million musical compositions. We classify our business interests into two fundamental operations: Recorded Music and Music Publishing. A brief description of each of those operations is presented below.
Components of Our Operating Results
Recorded Music Operations
Our Recorded Music business primarily consists of the discovery and development of recording artists and the related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale and licensing of music created by such recording artists. We play an integral role in virtually all aspects of the recorded music value chain from discovering and developing talent to producing, distributing and selling music to marketing and promoting recording artists and their music.
In the United States, our Recorded Music business is conducted principally through our major record labels—Atlantic Records and Warner Records. In October 2018, we launched Elektra Music Group in the United States as a standalone label group, which comprises the Elektra, Fueled by Ramen and Roadrunner labels, and in December 2021, we acquired 300 Entertainment and subsequently launched 300 Elektra Entertainment, or 3EE, a frontline label group that brings together the multi-genre power of 300 Entertainment and Elektra Music Group. Our Recorded Music business also includes Rhino Entertainment, a division that specializes in marketing our recorded music catalog through compilations, reissuances of previously released music and video titles and releasing previously unreleased material from our vault. We also conduct our Recorded Music business through a collection of additional record labels including Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Sire, Spinnin’ Records, TenThousand Projects, Warner Classics and Warner Music Nashville.
Outside the United States, our Recorded Music business is conducted in more than 70 countries through various subsidiaries, affiliates and non-affiliated licensees. Internationally, we engage in the same activities as in the United States: discovering and signing artists and distributing, selling, marketing and promoting their music. In most cases, we also market, promote, distribute and sell the music of those recording artists for whom our domestic record labels have international rights. In certain smaller markets, we license the right to distribute and sell our music to non-affiliated third-party record labels.
Our Recorded Music business’ operations include WMX, a next generation services division that connects artists with fans and amplifies brands in creative, immersive, and engaging ways. This division includes a rebranded WEA commercial services & marketing network (formerly Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Corporation, or WEA Corp.), which markets, distributes and sells music and video products to retailers and wholesale distributors, as well as acting as the Company’s media and creative content arm. Our business’ distribution operations also include Alternative Distribution Alliance (“ADA”), which markets, distributes and sells the products of independent labels to retail and wholesale distributors; and various distribution centers and ventures operated internationally.
In addition to our music being sold in physical retail outlets, our music is also sold in physical form to online physical retailers, such as amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and bestbuy.com, and distributed in digital form to an expanded universe of digital partners, including streaming services such as those of Amazon, Apple, Deezer, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tencent Music and YouTube, radio services such as iHeart Radio and SiriusXM and other download services.
We have integrated the marketing of digital content into all aspects of our business, including artists and repertoire (“A&R”) and distribution. Our business development executives work closely with A&R departments to ensure that while music is being produced, digital assets are also created with all distribution channels in mind, including streaming services, social networking sites, online portals and music-centered destinations. We also work side-by-side with our online and mobile partners to test new concepts. We believe existing and new digital businesses will be a significant source of growth and will provide new opportunities to successfully monetize our assets and create new revenue streams. The proportion of digital revenues attributable to each distribution channel varies by region and proportions may change as the introduction of new technologies continues. As one of the world’s largest music entertainment companies, we believe we are well positioned to take advantage of growth in digital distribution and emerging technologies to maximize the value of our assets.
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We have diversified our revenues beyond our traditional businesses by entering into expanded-rights deals with recording artists in order to partner with such artists in other aspects of their careers. Under these agreements, we provide services to and participate in recording artists’ activities outside the traditional recorded music business such as touring, merchandising and sponsorships. We have built and acquired artist services capabilities and platforms for marketing and distributing this broader set of music-related rights and participating more widely in the monetization of the artist brands we help create. We believe that entering into expanded-rights deals and enhancing our artist services capabilities in areas such as merchandising, VIP ticketing, fan clubs, concert promotion and management has permitted us to diversify revenue streams and capitalize on other revenue opportunities. This provides for improved long-term relationships with our recording artists and allows us to more effectively connect recording artists and fans.
Recorded Music revenues are derived from four main sources:
• Digital : the rightsholder receives revenues with respect to streaming and download services;
• Physical : the rightsholder receives revenues with respect to sales of physical products such as vinyl, CDs and DVDs;
• Artist services and expanded-rights : the rightsholder receives revenues with respect to our artist services businesses and our participation in expanded rights, including advertising, merchandising such as direct-to-consumer sales, touring, concert promotion, ticketing, sponsorship, fan clubs, artist websites, social publishing, and artist and brand management; and
• Licensing : the rightsholder receives royalties or fees for the right to use sound recordings in combination with visual images such as in films or television programs, television commercials and video games; the rightsholder also receives royalties if sound recordings are performed publicly through broadcast of music on television, radio and cable, and in public spaces such as shops, workplaces, restaurants, bars and clubs.
The principal costs associated with our Recorded Music business are as follows:
• A&R costs : the costs associated with (i) paying royalties to recording artists, producers, songwriters, other copyright holders and trade unions; (ii) signing and developing recording artists; and (iii) creating master recordings in the studio;
• Product costs : the costs to manufacture, package and distribute products to wholesale and retail distribution outlets, the royalty costs associated with distributing products of independent labels to wholesale and retail distribution outlets, as well as the costs related to our artist services business;
• Selling and marketing expenses : the costs associated with the promotion and marketing of recording artists and music, including costs to produce music videos for promotional purposes and artist tour support; and
• General and administrative expenses : the costs associated with general overhead and other administrative expenses.
Music Publishing Operations
While Recorded Music is focused on marketing, promoting, distributing and licensing a particular recording of a musical composition, Music Publishing is an intellectual property business focused on generating revenue from uses of the musical composition itself. In return for promoting, placing, marketing and administering the creative output of a songwriter, or engaging in those activities for other rightsholders, our Music Publishing business shares the revenues generated from use of the musical compositions with the songwriter or other rightsholders.
The operations of our Music Publishing business are conducted principally through Warner Chappell Music, our global music publishing company headquartered in Los Angeles, with operations in over 70 countries through various subsidiaries, affiliates, and non-affiliated licensees and sub-publishers. We own or control rights to more than one and a half million musical compositions, including numerous pop hits, American standards, folk songs and motion picture and theatrical compositions. Assembled over decades, our award-winning catalog includes over 180,000 songwriters and composers and a diverse range of genres including pop, rock, jazz, classical, country, R&B, hip-hop, rap, reggae, Latin, folk, blues, symphonic, soul, Broadway, electronic, alternative and gospel. Warner Chappell Music also administers the music and soundtracks of several third-party television and film producers and studios. We have an extensive production music catalog collectively branded as Warner Chappell Production Music.
Music Publishing revenues are derived from five main sources:
• Digital : the rightsholder receives revenues with respect to musical compositions embodied in recordings distributed in streaming services, download services, digital performance and other digital music services;
• Performance : the rightsholder receives revenues if the musical composition is performed publicly through broadcast of music on television, radio and cable and in retail locations (e.g., bars and restaurants), live performance at a
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concert or other venue ( e.g. , arena concerts and nightclubs), and performance of music in staged theatrical productions;
• Mechanical : the rightsholder receives revenues with respect to musical compositions embodied in recordings sold in any physical format or configuration such as vinyl, CDs and DVDs;
• Synchronization : the rightsholder receives revenues for the right to use the musical composition in combination with visual images such as in films or television programs, television commercials and video games as well as from other uses such as in toys or novelty items and merchandise; and
• Other : the rightsholder receives revenues for use in sheet music and other uses.
The principal costs associated with our Music Publishing business are as follows:
• A&R costs : the costs associated with (i) paying royalties to songwriters, co-publishers and other copyright holders in connection with income generated from the uses of their works and (ii) signing and developing songwriters; and
• Selling and marketing, general overhead and other administrative expenses : the costs associated with selling and marketing, general overhead and other administrative expenses.
Recent Events and Factors Affecting Results of Operations and Comparability
2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan
In 2024, the Company announced a strategic restructuring plan (the “2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan”) designed to free up additional funds to invest in music and accelerate the Company’s growth for the next decade. The 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan is substantially complete and the remaining associated cash payments are expected to be made by the end of fiscal year 2026.
The cost savings under the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan will be achieved through a combination of the disposal or winding down of non-core operations, continuing to manage overhead, sharpening focus, expanding shared services, and implementing previously disclosed expected operational efficiencies made possible by the Company’s financial transformative initiative. The Company expects allocating a majority of the costs savings to increase investment in the Company’s core Recorded Music and Music Publishing businesses, new skill sets and tech capabilities.
For the three months ended June 30, 2025, the Company recognized a $1 million benefit in our Recorded Music segment due a change in estimate of severance costs. For the nine months ended June 30, 2025, total severance and other contract termination costs recorded in connection with the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan were $7 million, of which $8 million of expense was recognized in our Recorded Music segment while there was a $1 million benefit recognized at Corporate due to a change in estimate. Additionally, for the nine months ended June 30, 2025, the Company recognized $32 million of impairment losses, all of which were recognized in our Recorded Music segment. Impairment charges recognized during the period primarily relate to the write-off of certain long-form audiovisual production assets and lease termination costs for office closures.
Other Impairments
For the three and nine months ended June 30, 2025, the Company recognized a pre-tax impairment charge of $70 million ($48 million after-tax) within the Recorded Music segment for long-lived assets associated with certain of the Company’s non-core e-tailer operations due to a triggering event that indicated the carrying amount was no longer recoverable. The recoverable fair value was determined based on current market indicators.
BMG Termination
In September 2023, the Company terminated its distribution agreement with BMG as BMG began to bring digital distribution in-house and license directly with digital service partners in fiscal 2024 while also licensing its physical distribution with a different provider (the “BMG Termination”). Alternative Distribution Alliance (“ADA”), which is part of our Recorded Music business, had previously been distributing BMG’s recorded music catalog and revenues are reported within our Recorded Music segment. The shift to digital direct deals by BMG is a phased in-sourcing of distribution during the current fiscal year and we expect BMG to be rolled off by the end of the current fiscal year.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Three Months Ended June 30, 2025 Compared with Three Months Ended June 30, 2024
Consolidated Results
Revenues
Our revenues were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Three Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Revenue by Type
Digital $ 929 $ 882 $ 47 5 %
Physical 119 120 (1) -1 %
Total digital and physical
1,048 1,002 46 5 %
Artist services and expanded-rights 195 159 36 23 %
Licensing 111 90 21 23 %
Total Recorded Music 1,354 1,251 103 8 %
Performance 58 52 6 12 %
Digital 204 194 10 5 %
Mechanical 16 13 3 23 %
Synchronization 54 42 12 29 %
Other 4 4 — — %
Total Music Publishing 336 305 31 10 %
Intersegment eliminations (1) (2) 1 -50 %
Total revenues
$ 1,689 $ 1,554 $ 135 9 %
Revenue by Geographical Location
U.S. Recorded Music $ 536 $ 517 $ 19 4 %
U.S. Music Publishing 186 161 25 16 %
Total U.S. 722 678 44 6 %
International Recorded Music 818 734 84 11 %
International Music Publishing 150 144 6 4 %
Total international
968 878 90 10 %
Intersegment eliminations (1) (2) 1 -50 %
Total revenues
$ 1,689 $ 1,554 $ 135 9 %
Total Revenues
Total revenues increased by $135 million, or 9%, to $1,689 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $1,554 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Revenue growth was favorably impacted by the settlement of certain copyright infringement cases (the “Copyright Settlement”), which resulted in $16 million higher Recorded Music revenue. The prior-year quarter included $22 million of incremental revenue recognized in Recorded Music from a Digital Service Provider (“DSP”) for performance obligations satisfied in previous periods (the “DSP True-Up Payments”). Recorded Music revenue growth was also unfavorably impacted by the BMG Termination, which resulted in $14 million less Recorded Music revenue compared to the prior-year quarter. The increase in total revenue includes $24 million of favorable currency exchange fluctuations. Prior to intersegment eliminations, Recorded Music and Music Publishing revenues represented 80% and 20% of total revenue for each of the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively. Prior to intersegment eliminations, U.S. and international revenues represented 43% and 57% of total revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2025, respectively, and 44% and 56% of total revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2024, respectively.
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Total digital revenues after intersegment eliminations increased by $57 million, or 5%, to $1,132 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $1,075 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Total streaming revenue increased by $42 million, driven by growth in Recorded Music and Music Publishing. Total streaming revenue includes $11 million of favorable currency exchange fluctuations. Prior to intersegment eliminations, total digital revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2025 were composed of U.S. revenues of $535 million and international revenues of $598 million, or 47% and 53% of total digital revenues, respectively. Prior to intersegment eliminations, total digital revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2024 were composed of U.S. revenues of $504 million and international revenues of $572 million, or 47% and 53% of total digital revenues, respectively.
Recorded Music revenues increased by $103 million, or 8%, to $1,354 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $1,251 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The increase includes $21 million of favorable currency exchange fluctuations. U.S. Recorded Music revenues were $536 million and $517 million, or 40% and 41% of consolidated Recorded Music revenues for each of the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively. International Recorded Music revenues were $818 million and $734 million, or 60% and 59%, of consolidated Recorded Music revenues for each of the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
The overall increase in Recorded Music revenue was driven by increases in digital, artist services and expanded-rights and licensing revenues, partially offset by a decrease in physical revenue. Digital revenue increased by $47 million, or 5%, which includes a favorable impact of currency exchange fluctuations of $10 million. Revenue from streaming services increased by $32 million to $895 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $863 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The increase in streaming revenue was driven by subscription streaming growth and includes a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $9 million, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of the DSP True-Up Payments and the BMG Termination of $4 million in the prior-year quarter. Download and other digital revenues increased by $15 million, or 79%, to $34 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $19 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024 due to the impact of the Copyright Settlement of $16 million, partially offset by the continued shift to streaming services. Licensing revenue increased by $21 million, or 23%, driven by higher licensing activity primarily in the U.K. and China, and timing of other copyright infringement settlements. Licensing revenue includes a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $3 million. Artist services and expanded-rights revenue increased by $36 million, or 23%, due to higher concert promotion revenue primarily in France and Spain, and a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $4 million. Physical revenue, which includes a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $4 million, decreased by $1 million, or 1%, as growth from strong releases in Korea and Japan was offset by the $10 million impact of the BMG Termination. Top sellers in the quarter included BAEKHYUN, ROSÉ, Bruno Mars, Grateful Dead, and Teddy Swims.
Music Publishing revenues increased by $31 million, or 10%, to $336 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $305 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. U.S. Music Publishing revenues were $186 million and $161 million, or 55% and 53% of consolidated Music Publishing revenues, for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively. International Music Publishing revenues were $150 million and $144 million, or 45% and 47% of consolidated Music Publishing revenues, for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
The overall increase in Music Publishing revenue was driven by increases in digital, performance, synchronization, and mechanical revenues. Digital revenue increased by $10 million, or 5%, driven by an increase in streaming revenue, which includes a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $1 million. Revenue from streaming services grew by $10 million, or 5%, to $202 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $192 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, driven by the impact of digital deal renewals, primarily in the U.S, and a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $1 million. Performance revenue increased by $6 million, or 12%, driven by growth from concerts, radio and live events primarily in Europe, and a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $1 million. Mechanical revenue increased by $3 million, or 23%, and includes a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $1 million. Synchronization revenue increased by $12 million, or 29%, attributable to timing of other copyright infringement settlements, higher television and commercial licensing activity, and the $3 million impact of our acquisition of Tempo.
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Revenue by Geographical Location
U.S. revenue increased by $44 million, or 6%, to $722 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $678 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. U.S. Recorded Music revenue increased by $19 million, or 4%. U.S. Recorded Music digital revenue increased by $20 million, or 5%, driven by higher download and other digital revenue of $15 million, or 150%, including the impact of the Copyright Settlement in the quarter, and higher streaming revenue of $5 million, or 1%. U.S. Recorded Music licensing revenue increased by $8 million, or 30%, driven by timing of other copyright infringement settlements. U.S. Recorded Music artist services and expanded-rights revenues decreased by $5 million, or 10%, driven by lower merchandising revenue, and physical revenue decreased by $4 million, or 8% . U.S. Music Publishing revenue increased by $25 million, or 16%, to $186 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $161 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. U.S. Music Publishing digital revenue increased by $11 million, or 10%, attributable to higher streaming revenue of $11 million, or 10%. U.S. Music Publishing streaming revenue reflects impact of digital deal renewals. U.S. Music Publishing performance and mechanical revenues remained constant during the three months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024. U.S. Music Publishing synchronization revenue increased by $13 million, or 54%, driven by timing of other copyright infringement settlements, higher television and commercial licensing activity and the impact of acquisitions.
International revenue increased by $90 million, or 10%, to $968 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $878 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Excluding the favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $23 million, International revenue increased by $67 million, or 7%. International Recorded Music revenue increased by $84 million, which includes a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $21 million, driven by growth across digital, artist services and expanded rights, licensing and physical revenues. International Recorded Music licensing revenue increased by $13 million, or 21%, driven by licensing deals primarily in the U.K. and China, and timing of other copyright infringement settlements. International Recorded Music artist services and expanded-rights revenue increased by $41 million, or 37%, driven by higher concert promotion revenue primarily in France and Spain, and the favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $4 million. International Recorded Music digital revenue increased by $27 million, attributable to higher streaming revenue of $27 million, or 6%, which includes the impact of the BMG Termination, and reflects a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $9 million. Physical revenue increased by $3 million driven by the favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $4 million, partially offset by the impact of the BMG Termination. International Music Publishing revenue increased by $6 million, or 4%, to $150 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $144 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. International Music Publishing revenue growth was driven by increases in performance revenue of $6 million due to growth from concerts, radio and live events in Europe and mechanical revenue of $3 million. This was partially offset by decreases in digital revenue of $1 million, synchronization revenue of $1 million, and other revenue of $1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024.
Cost of revenues
Our cost of revenues was composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Three Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Artist and repertoire costs $ 584 $ 548 $ 36 7 %
Product costs 329 282 47 17 %
Total cost of revenues $ 913 $ 830 $ 83 10 %
Artist and repertoire costs increased by $36 million, to $584 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $548 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Artist and repertoire costs as a percentage of revenue remained constant at 35% for each of the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024.
Product costs increased by $47 million, to $329 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $282 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Product costs as a percentage of revenue increased to 19% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 18% for the three months ended June 30, 2024 due to revenue and deal mix.
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Selling, general and administrative expenses
Our selling, general and administrative expenses were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Three Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
General and administrative expense (1) $ 282 $ 264 $ 18 7 %
Selling and marketing expense 167 173 (6) -3 %
Distribution expense 22 25 (3) -12 %
Total selling, general and administrative expense $ 471 $ 462 $ 9 2 %
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(1) Includes depreciation expense of $29 million and $25 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
Total selling, general and administrative expense increased by $9 million, to $471 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $462 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of revenue, total selling, general and administrative expense decreased to 28% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 30% for the three months ended June 30, 2024 due to the factors noted below.
General and administrative expense increased by $18 million to $282 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $264 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The increase in general and administrative expense was driven by incremental investment in technology of $7 million, higher non-cash stock-based compensation costs of $5 million due to the departure of our former Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) in the current year, the impact of acquisitions of $4 million and higher depreciation expense of $4 million, primarily driven by the core financials component of our new technology platform being placed into service, partially offset by savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, of which a portion has been reinvested in the Company’s business. Expressed as a percentage of revenue, general and administrative expense remained constant at 17% for each of the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024.
Selling and marketing expense decreased by $6 million, or 3%, to $167 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $173 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of revenue, selling and marketing expense decreased to 10% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 11% for the three months ended June 30, 2024 due to savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, of which a portion has been reinvested in the Company’s business.
Distribution expense decreased by $3 million to $22 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $25 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of revenue, distribution expense decreased to 1% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 2% for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
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Reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to Warner Music Group Corp. and Operating Income to Consolidated Adjusted OIBDA
As previously described, we use Adjusted OIBDA as our primary measure of financial performance. The following table reconciles operating income to Adjusted OIBDA, and further provides the components from net income attributable to Warner Music Group Corp. to operating income for purposes of the discussion that follows (in millions):
For the Three Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Net (loss) income attributable to Warner Music Group Corp. $ (16) $ 139 $ (155) — %
Income attributable to noncontrolling interest — 2 (2) (100) %
Net (loss) income (16) 141 (157) — %
Income tax expense 5 30 (25) (83) %
Net (loss) income before income taxes
(11) 171 (182) — %
Other expense (income) 137 (4) 141 — %
Interest expense, net 43 40 3 8 %
Operating income 169 207 (38) (18) %
Amortization expense 67 55 12 22 %
Depreciation expense 29 25 4 16 %
Restructuring and impairments 69 1 68 — %
Transformation initiative costs 19 18 1 6 %
Executive transition costs 4 — 4 (100) %
Net gain on divestitures — (1) 1 — %
Non-cash stock-based compensation and other related costs 16 11 5 45 %
Adjusted OIBDA $ 373 $ 316 $ 57 18 %
Adjusted OIBDA
Adjusted OIBDA increased by $57 million to $373 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $316 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, driven by the impact of the Copyright Settlement of $9 million in Recorded Music in the current quarter and the $12 million impact of the DSP True-Up Payments in the prior-year quarter, as well as revenue mix, the impact of acquisitions, and savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, partially offset by the reinvestment of these savings in the Company’s business including $7 million of incremental investment in technology for the three months ended June 30, 2025. Expressed as a percentage of total revenue, Adjusted OIBDA margin increased to 22% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 20% for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
Non-cash stock-based compensation and other related costs
Our non-cash stock-based compensation and other related costs increased by $5 million to $16 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $11 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, primarily due to $5 million of costs related to the departure of our former CFO in the current year.
Net gain on divestitures
There was no net gain on divestitures during the three months ended June 30, 2025. Net gain on divestitures during the three months ended June 30, 2024 includes a pre-tax gain of $1 million in connection with the divestiture of certain non-core owned and operated media properties.
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Executive transition costs
Executive transition costs were $4 million during the three months ended June 30, 2025, which consisted of severance costs associated with the departure of our former CFO in the current year.
Transformation initiative costs
Our transformation initiative costs which include costs associated with our finance transformation increased by $1 million to $19 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $18 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
Restructuring and Impairments
Our restructuring and impairment charges increased to $69 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The three months ended June 30, 2025 includes an impairment charge of $70 million for long-lived assets associated with certain of the Company’s non-core e-tailer operations.
Depreciation expense
Our depreciation expense increased by $4 million to $29 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $25 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The increase is primarily driven by the core financials component of our new technology platform being placed into service.
Amortization expense
Our amortization expense increased by $12 million, to $67 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $55 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The increase is driven by incremental amortization related to acquisitions of music-related assets, partially offset by certain intangible assets becoming fully amortized.
Operating income
Our operating income decreased by $38 million to $169 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $207 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. In addition to the factors impacting Adjusted OIBDA described above, the decrease in operating income was driven by an increase in restructuring and impairment charges of $68 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024, higher amortization expenses of $12 million, higher non-cash stock-based compensation and other related costs of $5 million, and the impact of a $1 million net gain on a divestiture in the prior-year quarter.
Interest expense, net
Our interest expense, net, increased to $43 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $40 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024 due to incremental debt related to the Tempo Asset-Based Notes acquired in connection with the acquisition of Tempo.
Other expense (income)
Other expense for the three months ended June 30, 2025 primarily includes foreign currency losses on our Euro-denominated debt of $70 million, currency exchange losses on our intercompany loans of $63 million, and realized and unrealized losses on hedging activity of $8 million. This compares to foreign currency gains on our Euro-denominated debt of $7 million, currency exchange losses on our intercompany loans of $5 million, and realized and unrealized gains on hedging activity of $1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
Income tax expense
Our income tax expense decreased by $25 million to $5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $30 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The decrease of $25 million in income tax expense is primarily due to the impact of pre-tax loss in the current period and benefit for updated allowable costs for reported foreign derived intangible income in the prior period.
Net (loss) income
Net (loss) income decreased by $157 million to net loss of $16 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from net income of $141 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024 as a result of the factors described above.
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Noncontrolling interest
There was no income attributable to noncontrolling interest during the three months ended June 30, 2025 compared to a loss of $2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
Business Segment Results
Revenues, operating income (loss) and Adjusted OIBDA by business segment were as follows (in millions):
For the Three Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Recorded Music
Revenues $ 1,354 $ 1,251 $ 103 8 %
Operating income 201 230 (29) -13 %
Adjusted OIBDA
321 281 40 14 %
Music Publishing
Revenues 336 305 31 10 %
Operating income 60 53 7 13 %
Adjusted OIBDA
96 79 17 22 %
Corporate expenses and eliminations
Revenue eliminations (1) (2) 1 -50 %
Operating loss (92) (75) (17) 23 %
Adjusted OIBDA loss
(44) (44) — — %
Total
Revenues 1,689 1,554 135 9 %
Operating income 169 207 (38) -18 %
Adjusted OIBDA
373 316 57 18 %
Recorded Music
Revenues
Recorded Music revenue increased by $103 million, or 8%, to $1,354 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $1,251 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
The overall increase in Recorded Music revenue was driven by higher revenue across digital, artist services and expanded-rights and licensing, partially offset by a decrease in physical revenue, as described in the “Total Revenues” and “Revenue by Geographical Location” sections above.
Cost of revenues
Recorded Music cost of revenues was composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Three Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Artist and repertoire costs $ 377 $ 354 $ 23 6 %
Product costs 329 282 47 17 %
Total cost of revenues $ 706 $ 636 $ 70 11 %
Recorded Music cost of revenues increased by $70 million, to $706 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $636 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of Recorded Music revenue, Recorded Music artist and repertoire costs remained constant at 28% for each of the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of Recorded Music revenue, Recorded Music product costs increased to 24% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 23% for the three months ended June 30, 2024, driven by revenue and deal mix.
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Selling, general and administrative expense
Recorded Music selling, general and administrative expenses were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Three Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
General and administrative expense (1) $ 162 $ 161 $ 1 1 %
Selling and marketing expense 161 167 (6) -4 %
Distribution expense 22 25 (3) -12 %
Total selling, general and administrative expense $ 345 $ 353 $ (8) -2 %
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(1) Includes depreciation expense of $14 million and $13 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
Recorded Music selling, general and administrative expense decreased by $8 million, to $345 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $353 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The increase in general and administrative expense was largely driven by the impact of acquisitions of $4 million, partially offset by lower non-cash stock-based compensation and other related costs of $2 million. The decrease in selling and marketing expense was driven by savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, a portion of which has been reinvested into the Company’s business. The decrease in distribution expense was primarily driven by revenue mix. Expressed as a percentage of Recorded Music revenue, Recorded Music selling, general and administrative expense decreased to 25% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 28% for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
Operating Income and Adjusted OIBDA
Recorded Music operating income decreased by $29 million to $201 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $230 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. In addition to the factors impacting Adjusted OIBDA described below, the decrease in operating income was driven by an increase in restructuring and impairment charges of $67 million compared to the prior-year quarter, which includes an impairment charge of $70 million for long-lived assets associated with certain of the Company’s non-core e-tailer operations, and higher amortization expenses of $3 million related to acquisitions of music-related assets.
Recorded Music Adjusted OIBDA increased by $40 million to $321 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $281 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, largely driven by the impact of the Copyright Settlement of $9 million in the current quarter and the $12 million impact of the DSP True-Up Payments in the prior-year quarter, as well as savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, of which a portion has been reinvested in the Company’s business, and favorable movements in foreign currency exchange rates. Expressed as a percentage of Recorded Music revenue, Recorded Music Adjusted OIBDA margin increased to 24% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 22% for the three months ended June 30, 2024 due to the factors noted above.
Music Publishing
Revenues
Music Publishing revenues increased by $31 million, or 10%, to $336 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $305 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
The overall increase in Music Publishing revenue was driven by growth in digital, performance, synchronization and mechanical revenues, as described in the “Total Revenues” and “Revenue by Geographical Location” sections above.
Cost of revenues
Music Publishing cost of revenues were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Three Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Artist and repertoire costs $ 208 $ 196 $ 12 6 %
Total cost of revenues $ 208 $ 196 $ 12 6 %
Music Publishing cost of revenues increased by $12 million, or 6%, to $208 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $196 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of Music Publishing revenue, Music
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Publishing cost of revenues decreased to 62% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 64% for the three months ended June 30, 2024, largely due to revenue mix.
Selling, general and administrative expense
Music Publishing selling, general and administrative expenses were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Three Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
General and administrative expense (1) $ 33 $ 30 $ 3 10 %
Selling and marketing expense 1 1 — — %
Total selling, general and administrative expense $ 34 $ 31 $ 3 10 %
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(1) Includes depreciation expense of $1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025. There was no depreciation expense for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
Music Publishing selling, general and administrative expense increased by $3 million, or 10%, to $34 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $31 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, driven by higher overhead and the impact of acquisitions. Expressed as a percentage of Music Publishing revenue, Music Publishing selling, general and administrative expense remained constant at 10% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024.
Operating Income and Adjusted OIBDA
Music Publishing operating income increased by $7 million to $60 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $53 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, driven by the same factors affecting Adjusted OIBDA discussed below, partially offset by an increase in depreciation and amortization expense of $10 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024.
Music Publishing Adjusted OIBDA increased by $17 million, or 22%, to $96 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from $79 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, primarily driven by revenue mix. Expressed as a percentage of Music Publishing revenue, Music Publishing Adjusted OIBDA margin increased to 29% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 26% for the three months ended June 30, 2024.
Corporate Expenses and Eliminations
Our operating loss from corporate expenses and eliminations increased by $17 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025 to $92 million from $75 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, driven by incremental investment in technology and higher depreciation expense of $2 million driven by the core financials component of our new technology platform being placed into service.
Our Adjusted OIBDA loss from corporate expenses and eliminations remained constant at $44 million for each of the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, primarily due to the operating loss factors noted above.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Nine Months Ended June 30, 2025 Compared with Nine Months Ended June 30, 2024
Consolidated Results
Revenues
Our revenues were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Nine Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Revenue by Type
Digital $ 2,643 $ 2,638 $ 5 — %
Physical 397 385 12 3 %
Total digital and physical
3,040 3,023 17 1 %
Artist services and expanded-rights 508 489 19 4 %
Licensing 326 373 (47) -13 %
Total Recorded Music 3,874 3,885 (11) — %
Performance 167 155 12 8 %
Digital 599 577 22 4 %
Mechanical 46 43 3 7 %
Synchronization 142 129 13 10 %
Other 15 11 4 36 %
Total Music Publishing 969 915 54 6 %
Intersegment eliminations (4) (4) — — %
Total revenues
$ 4,839 $ 4,796 $ 43 1 %
Revenue by Geographical Location
U.S. Recorded Music $ 1,565 $ 1,652 $ (87) -5 %
U.S. Music Publishing 520 503 17 3 %
Total U.S. 2,085 2,155 (70) -3 %
International Recorded Music 2,309 2,233 76 3 %
International Music Publishing 449 412 37 9 %
Total international
2,758 2,645 113 4 %
Intersegment eliminations (4) (4) — — %
Total revenues
$ 4,839 $ 4,796 $ 43 1 %
Total Revenues
Total revenues increased by $43 million, or 1%, to $4,839 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $4,796 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Revenue growth was favorably impacted by $16 million of higher Recorded Music digital revenue from the Copyright Settlement and $4 million of higher Recorded Music digital revenue from the DSP True-Up Payments. The prior year included $75 million in Recorded Music licensing revenue from a licensing agreement extension for an artist’s catalog (the “Licensing Extension”), $43 million of incremental Recorded Music streaming revenue recognized from the DSP True-Up Payments, and $30 million of Recorded Music streaming revenue from a deal with one of the Company’s digital partners (the “Digital License Renewal”), which resulted in upfront revenue recognition for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Revenue growth was also unfavorably impacted by the BMG Termination, which resulted in $64 million lower Recorded Music revenue compared to the nine months ended June 30, 2024, of which $24 million was in streaming revenue and $40 million was in physical revenue. Prior to intersegment eliminations, Recorded Music and Music Publishing revenues represented 80% and 20% of total revenues for the nine months ended June 30, 2025, respectively, and 81% and 19% of total revenues for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, respectively. Prior to intersegment eliminations, U.S. and international revenues represented 43% and 57% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025, respectively, and 45% and 55% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, respectively.
Total digital revenues after intersegment eliminations increased by $27 million, or 1%, to $3,241 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $3,214 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Total streaming revenue increased 1% primarily driven by an increase in streaming revenue at Music Publishing. Total digital revenues remained constant at 67% of consolidated revenues for each of the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024. Prior to intersegment eliminations, total digital revenues
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for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 were composed of U.S. revenues of $1,533 million and international revenues of $1,709 million, or 47% and 53% of total digital revenues, respectively. Prior to intersegment eliminations, total digital revenues for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 were composed of U.S. revenues of $1,551 million and international revenues of $1,664 million, or 48% and 52% of total digital revenues, respectively.
Recorded Music revenues decreased by $11 million to $3,874 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 compared to $3,885 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, which includes $17 million of unfavorable currency exchange fluctuations. U.S. Recorded Music revenues were $1,565 million and $1,652 million, or 40% and 43% of consolidated Recorded Music revenues, for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively. International Recorded Music revenues were $2,309 million and $2,233 million, or 60% and 57% of consolidated Recorded Music revenues for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
The overall decrease in Recorded Music revenue was driven by a decrease in licensing offset by increases in artist services and expanded-rights and physical revenues. Digital revenue increased by $5 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the nine months ended June 30, 2024, which includes an unfavorable impact of currency exchange fluctuations of $20 million, and reflects the impacts of the Copyright Settlement of $16 million and DSP True-Up Payments of $4 million in the current year and $43 million in the prior year, as well as the Digital License Renewal of $30 million and the BMG Termination of $24 million in the prior year. Revenue from streaming services decreased $4 million to $2,574 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 compared to $2,578 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, which includes the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $20 million, and reflects the impacts of the DSP True-Up Payments of $4 million in the current year and $43 million in the prior year, as well as the Digital License Renewal of $30 million and the BMG Termination of $24 million in the prior year. Download and other digital revenues increased by $9 million, or 15%, to $69 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $60 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 primarily due to the impact of the Copyright Settlement of $16 million, partially offset by the continued shift to streaming services. Licensing revenue decreased by $47 million, or 13%, primarily driven by $75 million from the Licensing Extension in the prior year. Artist services and expanded-rights revenue increased by $19 million, or 4%, attributable to higher concert promotion revenue in Europe. Physical revenue increased by $12 million, or 3%, driven by strong U.S. and international releases, including in Japan and Korea, and includes a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $2 million, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of the BMG Termination of $40 million. Top sellers for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 included ROSÉ, Bruno Mars, Teddy Swims, Linkin Park, Charli XCX, and Benson Boone.
Music Publishing revenues increased by $54 million, or 6%, to $969 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $915 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. U.S. Music Publishing revenues were $520 million and $503 million, or 54% and 55% of consolidated Music Publishing revenues, for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively. International Music Publishing revenues were $449 million and $412 million, or 46% and 45% of Music Publishing revenues, for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
The overall increase in Music Publishing revenue was attributable to increases in digital revenue of $22 million, or 4%, performance revenue of $12 million, or 8%, synchronization revenue of $13 million, or 8%, mechanical revenue of $3 million, or 7%, and other publishing revenue of $4 million. The increase in digital revenue was primarily driven by continued growth in streaming revenue. Revenue from streaming services grew by $22 million, or 4%, to $592 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $570 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, reflecting the impact of deal renewals, primarily in the U.S., partially offset by an unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $2 million. The growth in performance revenue is attributable to growth from concerts, radio and live events in Europe, and the growth in synchronization revenue is attributable to the timing of other copyright infringement settlements, higher television and commercial licensing activity, and the $5 million impact of our acquisition of Tempo.
Revenue by Geographical Location
U.S. revenue decreased by $70 million, or 3%, to $2,085 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $2,155 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. U.S. Recorded Music revenue decreased by $87 million, or 5%, primarily driven by a decrease in licensing revenue of $67 million largely attributable to $75 million from the Licensing Extension in the prior year. The decrease in U.S. Recorded Music revenue was also attributable to lower digital and expanded-rights revenues, partially offset by growth in U.S. Recorded Music physical revenue. U.S. Recorded Music digital revenue decreased by $20 million, or 2%, which reflects lower streaming revenue of $33 million, or 3%, partially offset by higher download and other digital revenue of $13 million, or 42%. The decrease in streaming revenue is largely attributable to the impacts of the DSP True-Up Payments in both the current and prior years, as well as the BMG Termination in the prior year. The increase in download and other digital revenue is due to the impact of the Copyright Settlement of $16 million in the current year. U.S Recorded Music physical revenue increased by $4 million, or 2%, driven by strong releases in the current year as well as catalog and carryover success, partially offset by the impact of the BMG Termination. U.S. Recorded Music artist services and expanded-rights revenue decreased by $4 million, or 3%, driven by a decrease in revenue related to the exit of the Company’s non-core owned and operated media properties in the prior year in connection with the
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2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, partially offset by the impact of acquisitions. U.S. Music Publishing revenue increased by $17 million, or 3%, to $520 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $503 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. U.S. Music Publishing digital revenue increased by $2 million, attributable to higher streaming revenue of $2 million, or 1%, while download and other digital revenue remained constant. U.S. Music Publishing mechanical revenue increased by $2 million, or 25%. U.S. Music Publishing synchronization revenue increased by $13 million, or 17%, driven by timing of other copyright infringement settlements, higher television and commercial licensing activity and the impact of acquisitions. U.S. Music Publishing performance revenue remained constant for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the nine months ended June 30, 2024.
International revenue increased by $113 million, or 4%, to $2,758 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $2,645 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Excluding the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $22 million, International revenue increased by $135 million, or 5%. International Recorded Music revenue increased by $76 million, driven by increases in digital revenue of $25 million, artist services and expanded-rights revenue of $23 million, licensing revenue of $20 million and physical revenue of $8 million. International Recorded Music digital revenue increased by $25 million, attributable to higher streaming revenue of $29 million which includes the impact of certain DSP True-Up Payments, the Digital License Renewal and the BMG Termination in the prior year, and a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $20 million, partially offset by lower download and other digital revenue of $4 million. International Recorded Music artist services and expanded-rights revenue increased by $23 million, primarily due to higher concert promotion revenue. International Recorded Music licensing revenue increased by $20 million, driven by higher licensing activity primarily in the U.K. and Japan, the timing of other copyright infringement settlements, and favorable foreign currency exchange rates of $1 million. International Recorded Music physical revenue increased by $8 million, driven by strength of new releases primarily in Japan, and a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates of $2 million, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of the BMG Termination in the prior year. International Music Publishing revenue increased by $37 million, or 9%, to $449 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $412 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. This was driven by increases in digital revenue of $20 million, performance revenue of $12 million driven by higher touring revenue, mechanical revenue of $1 million, and other publishing revenue of $4 million. Synchronization revenue remained constant for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the nine months ended June 30, 2024. International Music Publishing digital growth is primarily driven by streaming revenue growth of $20 million, or 9%.
Cost of revenues
Our cost of revenues was composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Nine Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Artist and repertoire costs $ 1,689 $ 1,627 $ 62 4 %
Product costs 909 874 35 4 %
Total cost of revenues $ 2,598 $ 2,501 $ 97 4 %
Artist and repertoire costs increased by $62 million, to $1,689 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $1,627 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Artist and repertoire costs as a percentage of revenue increased to 35% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from 34% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, primarily due to revenue mix compared to the nine months ended June 30, 2024, which included items with upfront revenue recognition without associated artist and repertoire costs, partially offset by favorable movements in currency exchange rates.
Product costs increased by $35 million, to $909 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $874 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Product costs as a percentage of revenue increased to 19% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from 18% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, primarily due to the impact of the Licensing Extension, revenue mix and the BMG Termination.
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Selling, general and administrative expenses
Our selling, general and administrative expenses were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Nine Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
General and administrative expense (1) $ 842 $ 791 $ 51 6 %
Selling and marketing expense 482 518 (36) -7 %
Distribution expense 71 75 (4) -5 %
Total selling, general and administrative expense $ 1,395 $ 1,384 $ 11 1 %
______________________________________
(1) Includes depreciation expense of $86 million and $77 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
Total selling, general and administrative expense increased by $11 million, to $1,395 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $1,384 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of revenue, total selling, general and administrative expense remained constant at 29% for each of the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024 due to the factors noted below.
General and administrative expense increased by $51 million to $842 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $791 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. The increase in general and administrative expense was driven by incremental investment in technology of $20 million, higher non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $14 million, the impact of acquisitions of $7 million, and higher depreciation expense of $9 million related to technology assets being placed into service, including the core financials component of our new technology platform, partially offset by lower expenses related to transformation initiatives and related costs of $2 million, and savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, of which a portion has been reinvested into the Company’s business. Expressed as a percentage of revenue, general and administrative expense increased to 17% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from 16% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 due to the factors noted above.
Selling and marketing expense decreased by $36 million, or 7%, to $482 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $518 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of revenue, selling and marketing expense decreased to 10% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025, from 11% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 due to lower variable marketing spend and savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, of which a portion has been reinvested in the Company’s business.
Distribution expense decreased by $4 million to $71 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $75 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of revenue, distribution expense decreased to 1% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from 2% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024.
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Reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to Warner Music Group Corp. and Operating Income to Consolidated Adjusted OIBDA
As previously described, we use Adjusted OIBDA as our primary measure of financial performance. The following table reconciles operating income to Adjusted OIBDA, and further provides the components from net income attributable to Warner Music Group Corp. to operating income for purposes of the discussion that follows (in millions):
For the Nine Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Net income attributable to Warner Music Group Corp. $ 256 $ 394 $ (138) -35 %
Income attributable to noncontrolling interest 5 36 (31) -86 %
Net income 261 430 (169) -39 %
Income tax expense 123 120 3 3 %
Income before income taxes 384 550 (166) -30 %
Other expense 48 9 39 — %
Interest expense, net 119 121 (2) -2 %
Operating income 551 680 (129) -19 %
Amortization expense 186 167 19 11 %
Depreciation expense 86 77 9 12 %
Restructuring and impairments 109 96 13 14 %
Transformation initiatives and other related costs 54 56 (2) -4 %
Executive transition costs 4 — 4 — %
Net gain on divestitures — (32) 32 -100 %
Non-cash stock-based compensation and other related costs 49 35 14 40 %
Adjusted OIBDA $ 1,039 $ 1,079 $ (40) -4 %
Adjusted OIBDA
Adjusted OIBDA decreased by $40 million to $1,039 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 as compared to $1,079 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, largely attributable to the impact of the Copyright Settlement of $9 million in Recorded Music and the $3 million impact of the DSP True-Up Payments in the current year, and the $74 million impact of the Licensing Extension, the $23 million impact of the DSP True-Up Payments, the $12 million impact of the Digital License Renewal, and the $1 million impact of the BMG Termination in the prior year, as well as revenue mix, partially offset by savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, a portion of which has been reinvested in the Company’s business, and favorable movements in currency exchange rates. Expressed as a percentage of total revenue, Adjusted OIBDA margin decreased to 21% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from 23% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024.
Non-cash stock-based compensation and other related costs
Our non-cash stock-based compensation and other related costs increased by $14 million to $49 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $35 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, primarily related to issuance of additional restricted stock units and market-based performance stock units and the departure of our former CFO in the current year of $5 million.
Net gain on divestitures
There was no net gain on divestitures during the nine months ended June 30, 2025. During the nine months ended June 30, 2024, the Company recognized a pre-tax gain of $32 million in connection with the divestiture of certain sound recording and publishing rights.
Executive transition costs
Executive transition costs were $4 million during the nine months ended June 30, 2025, which consisted of severance costs associated with the departure of our former CFO in the current year.
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Transformation initiatives and other related costs
Our transformation initiatives and other related costs decreased by $2 million to $54 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $56 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024.
Restructuring and Impairments
Our restructuring and impairment charges increased by $13 million to $109 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $96 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. The current year includes contract termination costs of approximately $7 million, and approximately $32 million of impairment losses related to the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan as well as an impairment charge of $70 million for long-lived assets associated with certain of the Company’s non-core e-tailer operations. Impairment charges recognized in connection with the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan during the current year primarily relate to the write-off of certain long-form audiovisual production assets and lease termination costs for office closures. The nine months ended June 30, 2024 also includes severance costs of approximately $46 million, and $50 million of impairment losses primarily related to the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan.
Depreciation expense
Our depreciation expense increased by $9 million to $86 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $77 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. This increase is primarily due to an increase in IT assets being placed into service, including the core financials component of our new technology platform.
Amortization expense
Our amortization expense increased by $19 million, or 11%, to $186 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $167 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. The increase is driven by incremental amortization related to acquisitions of music-related assets, partially offset by certain intangible assets becoming fully amortized.
Operating income
Our operating income decreased by $129 million to $551 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $680 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. The decrease in operating income was due to the same factors affecting Adjusted OIBDA discussed above, as well as higher depreciation expenses primarily due to an increase in technology assets being placed into service, including the core financials component of our new technology platform, a $32 million net gain on divestitures in the prior year and higher restructuring and impairment charges as noted above.
Interest expense, net
Our interest expense, net, decreased to $119 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $121 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 due to lower interest rates on variable rate debt, partially offset by the impact of the Tempo Asset-Based Notes.
Other expense
Other expense for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 primarily includes foreign currency losses on our Euro-denominated debt of $43 million, currency exchange gains on our intercompany loans of $43 million, realized gains on the sale of an investment of $29 million, and realized and unrealized gains on hedging activity of $1 million. This compares to foreign currency losses on our Euro-denominated debt of $19 million and currency exchange losses on the Company’s intercompany loans of $2 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024.
Income tax expense
Our income tax expense increased by $3 million to $123 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $120 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. The increase of $3 million in income tax expense is primarily due to benefits in the prior year from the winding down of the Company’s owned and operated media properties, updated allowable costs for reported foreign derived intangible income, and no tax on non-controlling interest were partially offset by lower pre-tax income in the current year.
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Net income
Net income decreased by $169 million to $261 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $430 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 as a result of the factors described above.
Noncontrolling interest
Income attributable to noncontrolling interest decreased by $31 million to $5 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $36 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, driven by lower income from non-wholly-owned subsidiaries in the current year, primarily due to the impact of the Licensing Extension in the prior year.
Business Segment Results
Revenues, operating income (loss) and Adjusted OIBDA by business segment were as follows (in millions):
For the Nine Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Recorded Music
Revenues $ 3,874 $ 3,885 $ (11) — %
Operating income 642 739 (97) -13 %
Adjusted OIBDA
914 965 (51) -5 %
Music Publishing
Revenues $ 969 $ 915 $ 54 6 %
Operating income 167 185 (18) -10 %
Adjusted OIBDA
264 247 17 7 %
Corporate expenses and eliminations
Revenue eliminations $ (4) $ (4) $ — — %
Operating loss (258) (244) (14) 6 %
Adjusted OIBDA loss
(139) (133) (6) 5 %
Total
Revenues $ 4,839 $ 4,796 $ 43 1 %
Operating income 551 680 (129) -19 %
Adjusted OIBDA
1,039 1,079 (40) -4 %
Recorded Music
Revenues
Recorded Music revenues decreased by $11 million to $3,874 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 compared to $3,885 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, U.S. Recorded Music revenues were $1,565 million and $1,652 million, or 40% and 43% of consolidated Recorded Music revenues, for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively. International Recorded Music revenues were $2,309 million and $2,233 million, or 60% and 57% of consolidated Recorded Music revenues, for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
The overall decrease in Recorded Music revenue was driven by a decrease in licensing revenue, offset by increases in artist services and expanded-rights and physical revenues, as described in the “Total Revenues” and “Revenue by Geographical Location” sections above.
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Cost of revenues
Recorded Music cost of revenues was composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Nine Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Artist and repertoire costs $ 1,082 $ 1,050 $ 32 3 %
Product costs 909 874 35 4 %
Total cost of revenues $ 1,991 $ 1,924 $ 67 3 %
Recorded Music cost of revenues increased by $67 million, to $1,991 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $1,924 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of Recorded Music revenue, Recorded Music artist and repertoire costs increased to 28% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025, from 27% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 primarily driven by revenue mix compared to the nine months ended June 30, 2024, which included items with upfront revenue recognition without associated artist and repertoire costs, partially offset by favorable movements in currency exchange rates. Expressed as a percentage of Recorded Music revenue, Recorded Music product costs increased to 23% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from 22% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, primarily due to revenue and deal mix and the impact of the Licensing Extension in the prior year, partially offset by a favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates in the current year.
Selling, general and administrative expense
Recorded Music selling, general and administrative expenses were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Nine Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
General and administrative expense (1) $ 503 $ 479 $ 24 5 %
Selling and marketing expense 461 500 (39) -8 %
Distribution expense 71 75 (4) -5 %
Total selling, general and administrative expense $ 1,035 $ 1,054 $ (19) -2 %
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(1) Includes depreciation expense of $42 million and $39 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
Recorded Music selling, general and administrative expense decreased by $19 million, to $1,035 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $1,054 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. The increase in general and administrative expense was primarily due to higher non-cash stock-based compensation and other related expenses of $5 million, partially offset by the impact of acquisitions of $7 million and savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, a portion of which has been reinvested into the Company’s business. The decrease in selling and marketing expense was primarily due to lower variable marketing spend and savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan. The decrease in distribution expense was primarily due to revenue mix. Expressed as a percentage of Recorded Music revenue, Recorded Music selling, general and administrative expense remained constant at 27% for each of the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024.
Operating Income and Adjusted OIBDA
Recorded Music operating income decreased by $97 million to $642 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $739 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. In addition to the factors impacting Recorded Music Adjusted OIBDA noted below, the decrease in operating income was driven by a $17 million net gain on divestitures recognized in the prior year, $110 million of restructuring and non-cash impairment charges compared to $89 million recognized in the prior year, primarily related to an impairment charge of $70 million recognized in the current period for long-lived assets associated with certain of the Company’s non-core e-tailer operations offset with lower non-cash impairment charges recognized in connection with the 2024 Strategic Restructuring plan, higher non-cash stock-based compensation expense and other related costs of $5 million and higher depreciation expense of $3 million primarily due to an increase in IT assets being placed into service, including the core financials component of our new technology platform.
Recorded Music Adjusted OIBDA decreased by $51 million, to $914 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $965 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, largely attributable to the impact of the Copyright Settlement of $9 million and the $3 million impact of the DSP True-Up Payments in the current year, as well as the Licensing Extension of $74 million, the $23 million impact of the DSP True-up Payments, the Digital License Renewal of $12 million, and the $1 million impact of the BMG
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Termination in the prior year, partially offset by the impact of favorable movements in foreign currency exchange rates and savings from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, of which a portion has been reinvested in the Company’s business. Expressed as a percentage of Recorded Music revenue, Recorded Music Adjusted OIBDA margin decreased to 24% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from 25% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, due to the factors noted above.
Music Publishing
Revenues
Music Publishing revenues increased by $54 million, or 6%, to $969 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $915 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. U.S. Music Publishing revenues were $520 million and $503 million, or 54% and 55% of consolidated Music Publishing revenues, for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively. International Music Publishing revenues were $449 million and $412 million, or 46% and 45% of consolidated Music Publishing revenues, for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
The overall increase in Music Publishing revenue was driven by growth across digital, performance, synchronization, mechanical and other publishing revenues, as described in the “Total Revenues” and “Revenue by Geographical Location” sections above.
Cost of revenues
Music Publishing cost of revenues were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Nine Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
Artist and repertoire costs $ 612 $ 582 $ 30 5 %
Total cost of revenues $ 612 $ 582 $ 30 5 %
Music Publishing cost of revenues increased by $30 million, or 5%, to $612 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $582 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of Music Publishing revenue, Music Publishing cost of revenues decreased to 63% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from 64% for the nine months ended June 30, 2024.
Selling, general and administrative expense
Music Publishing selling, general and administrative expenses were composed of the following amounts (in millions):
For the Nine Months Ended
June 30, 2025 vs. 2024
2025 2024 $ Change % Change
General and administrative expense (1) $ 98 $ 90 $ 8 9 %
Selling and marketing expense 3 1 2 — %
Total selling, general and administrative expense $ 101 $ 91 $ 10 11 %
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(1) Includes depreciation expense of $4 million and $2 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
Music Publishing selling, general and administrative expense increased to $101 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $91 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of Music Publishing revenue, Music Publishing selling, general and administrative expense remained constant at 10% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024.
Operating Income and Adjusted OIBDA
Music Publishing operating income decreased by $18 million to $167 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $185 million operating income for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 largely due to the factors that impacted Music Publishing Adjusted OIBDA noted below, as well as a $14 million net gain on a divestiture recognized in the prior year.
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Music Publishing Adjusted OIBDA increased by $17 million to $264 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $247 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. Expressed as a percentage of Music Publishing revenue, Music Publishing Adjusted OIBDA margin remained constant at 27% for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024, primarily driven by revenue mix and the impact of acquisitions.
Corporate Expenses and Eliminations
Our operating loss from corporate expenses and eliminations increased by $14 million to $258 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $244 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024, primarily due to incremental investment in technology of $20 million compared to the prior year, higher non-cash stock-based compensation and other related expenses of $8 million, executive transition costs of $4 million and higher depreciation expense of $4 million, partially offset by lower expenses related to transformation initiatives and related costs of $2 million and lower restructuring and impairment charges associated with the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan.
Our Adjusted OIBDA loss from corporate expenses and eliminations increased by $6 million to $139 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 from $133 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 primarily due to the operating loss factors noted above.
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FINANCIAL CONDITION AND LIQUIDITY
Financial Condition at June 30, 2025
At June 30, 2025, we had $4.363 billion of debt (which is net of $38 million of premiums, discounts and deferred financing costs), $527 million of cash and equivalents (net debt of $3.836 billion, defined as total debt, less cash and equivalents and premiums, discounts and deferred financing costs) and $589 million of Warner Music Group Corp. equity. This compares to $4.014 billion of debt (which is net of $34 million of premiums, discounts and deferred financing costs), $694 million of cash and equivalents (net debt of $3.320 billion) and $518 million of Warner Music Group Corp. equity at September 30, 2024.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our historical cash flows (in millions). The financial data for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024 are unaudited and have been derived from our condensed consolidated interim financial statements included elsewhere herein.
Nine Months Ended
June 30,
2025 2024
Cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities $ 447 $ 450
Investing activities (273) (201)
Financing activities (344) (280)
Operating Activities
Cash provided by operating activities was $447 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 as compared with cash provided by operating activities of $450 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. The $3 million decrease in cash provided by operating activities was largely a result of movement within working capital.
Investing Activities
Cash used in investing activities was $273 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 as compared with cash used in investing activities of $201 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. The $273 million of cash used in investing activities in the nine months ended June 30, 2025 consisted of $46 million relating to investments and acquisitions of businesses, $152 million to acquire music-related assets and $111 million relating to capital expenditures, partially offset by $36 million of proceeds from the sale of investments. The $201 million of cash used in investing activities in the nine months ended June 30, 2024 consisted of $26 million relating to investments and acquisitions of businesses, $123 million to acquire music-related assets, and $83 million relating to capital expenditures, partially offset by $19 million of proceeds from divestitures and $12 million of proceeds from the sale of investments.
Financing Activities
Cash used in financing activities was $344 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 as compared with cash used in financing activities of $280 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2024. The $344 million of cash used in financing activities for the nine months ended June 30, 2025 consisted of dividends paid of $283 million, payment of deferred consideration of $23 million, distributions to noncontrolling interest holders of $8 million, taxes paid related to net share settlement of restricted stock units and common stock of $19 million, common stock repurchased and retired of $3 million, repayment of the Term Loan Mortgage of $1 million and other financing activity of $7 million. The $280 million of cash used in financing activities for the nine months ended June 30, 2024 consisted of dividends paid of $267 million and distributions to noncontrolling interest holders of $6 million, taxes paid related to net share settlement of restricted stock units and common stock of $5 million and deferred financing costs paid of $2 million.
Liquidity
Our primary sources of liquidity are the cash flows generated from our subsidiaries’ operations, available cash and equivalents and funds available for drawing under our Revolving Credit Facility. These sources of liquidity are needed to fund our debt service requirements, working capital requirements, capital expenditure requirements, strategic acquisitions and investments, and dividends, prepayments of debt, repurchases or retirement of our outstanding debt or notes or repurchases of our outstanding equity securities in open market purchases, privately negotiated purchases or otherwise, we may elect to pay or make in the future. We maintain our cash in various banks and other financial institutions around the world, and in some cases those cash deposits are in
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excess of FDIC or other deposit insurance. In the event of a bank failure or receivership, we may not have access to those cash deposits in excess of the relevant deposit insurance, which could have an adverse effect on our liquidity and financial performance.
We believe that our primary sources of liquidity will be sufficient to support our existing operations over the next twelve months.
Debt Capital Structure
Since Access acquired us in 2011, we have sought to extend the maturity dates on our outstanding indebtedness, reduce interest expense and improve our debt ratings. For example, our S&P corporate credit rating improved from B in 2017 to BBB- in August 2024 with a stable outlook, and our Moody’s corporate family rating improved from B1 in 2016 to Ba1 in March 2025 with a positive outlook updated in March 2025. In September 2024, Fitch assigned us a BBB- long-term credit rating with a stable outlook. In addition, our weighted-average interest rate on our outstanding indebtedness has decreased from 10.5% in 2011 to 4.1% as of June 30, 2025. Our nearest-term maturity date is in 2028. Subject to market conditions, we expect to continue to take opportunistic steps to extend our maturity dates and reduce related interest expense. From time to time, we may incur additional indebtedness for, among other things, working capital, repurchasing, redeeming or tendering for existing indebtedness and acquisitions or other strategic transactions.
Repurchase Program
On November 14, 2024, the Company’s board of directors authorized a new $100 million share repurchase program (the “Share Repurchase Program”), which is intended to offset dilution from the Omnibus Incentive Plan. The $100 million share repurchase authorization does not obligate the Company to purchase any shares and the Share Repurchase Program does not have a fixed expiration date. As of June 30, 2025, approximately $97 million of the $100 million share repurchase authorization remained available.
The Company repurchased and retired 20,000 shares for $1 million during the three months ended June 30, 2025. The Company repurchased and retired 80,383 shares for $3 million during the nine months ended June 30, 2025.
Existing Debt as of June 30, 2025
As of June 30, 2025, our long-term debt was as follows (in millions):
Revolving Credit Facility (a) $ —
Senior Term Loan Facility due 2031 1,295
2.750% Senior Secured Notes due 2028
381
3.750% Senior Secured Notes due 2029
540
3.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2030
535
2.250% Senior Secured Notes due 2031
522
3.000% Senior Secured Notes due 2031
800
Mortgage Term Loan due 2033 17
Total debt, including the current portion 4,090
Premium less unamortized discount and unamortized DFCs (29)
Total Acquisition Corp. long-term debt, including the current portion, net $ 4,061
Tempo Asset-Based Notes due 2050 311
Unamortized discount
(9)
Total asset-based long-term debt, including the current portion, net (b)
$ 302
Total long-term debt, including the current portion, net $ 4,363
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(a) Reflects $350 million of commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility with no letters of credit outstanding at June 30, 2025. There were no loan outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility at June 30, 2025.
(b) The Asset-Based Notes are secured only by certain music rights owned by Tempo and are nonrecourse to the Company and its subsidiaries, other than Tempo.
For further discussion of our debt agreements, see “Liquidity” in the “Financial Condition and Liquidity” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024.
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Dividends
The Company’s ability to pay dividends may be restricted by covenants in the credit agreement for the Revolving Credit Facility which are currently suspended but which will be reinstated if Acquisition Corp.’s Total Indebtedness to EBITDA Ratio increases above 3.50:1.00 and the term loans do not achieve an investment grade rating.
The Company intends to pay quarterly cash dividends to holders of its Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock. The declaration of each dividend will continue to be at the discretion of the Company’s board of directors and will depend on the Company’s financial condition, earnings, liquidity and capital requirements, level of indebtedness, contractual restrictions with respect to payment of dividends, restrictions imposed by Delaware law, general business conditions and any other factors that the Company’s board of directors deems relevant in making such a determination. Therefore, there can be no assurance that the Company will pay any dividends to holders of the Company’s common stock, or as to the amount of any such dividends.
On May 16, 2025, the Company’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.18 per share on the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, as well as related payments under certain stock-based compensation plans, which was paid to stockholders on June 3, 2025. The Company paid an aggregate of approximately $94 million and $283 million, or $0.18 and $0.54 per share, in cash dividends to stockholders and participating security holders for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2025, respectively.
On August 7, 2025, the Company’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.19 per share on the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, as well as related payments under certain stock-based compensation plans, payable on September 3, 2025 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 20, 2025.
Covenant Compliance
The Company was in compliance with its covenants under its outstanding notes, the Revolving Credit Facility and the Senior Term Loan Facility as of June 30, 2025.
On January 18, 2019, we delivered a notice to the trustee under the 2012 Secured Indenture and 2014 Unsecured Indenture changing the Fixed GAAP Date, as defined under the indentures, to October 1, 2018. Under the Senior Term Loan Facility, the Revolving Credit Facility and the Secured Notes Indenture, the Fixed GAAP Date is set for April 3, 2020, other than in respect of capital leases, which are frozen at November 1, 2012.
The Revolving Credit Facility contains a springing leverage ratio that is tied to a ratio based on EBITDA, which is defined under the Revolving Credit Agreement. Our ability to borrow funds under the Revolving Credit Facility may depend upon our ability to meet the leverage ratio test at the end of a fiscal quarter to the extent we have drawn a certain amount of revolving loans. On May 4, 2021, certain covenants set forth in our Revolving Credit Facility were suspended, including the restriction on incurring certain additional indebtedness, based on the determination that the total indebtedness to EBITDA ratio is below the required threshold specified therein. EBITDA as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility is based on Consolidated Net Income (as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility), both of which terms differ from the terms “EBITDA” and “net income” as they are commonly used. For example, the calculation of EBITDA under the Revolving Credit Facility, in addition to adjusting net income to exclude interest expense, income taxes and depreciation and amortization, also adjusts net income by excluding items or expenses such as, among other items, (1) the amount of any restructuring charges or reserves; (2) any non-cash charges (including any impairment charges); (3) any net loss resulting from hedging currency exchange risks; (4) the amount of management, monitoring, consulting and advisory fees paid to Access; (5) business optimization expenses (including consolidation initiatives, severance costs and other costs relating to initiatives aimed at profitability improvement); (6) transaction expenses; (7) equity-based compensation expense; and (8) certain extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring items. The definition of EBITDA under the Revolving Credit Facility also includes adjustments for the pro forma impact of certain projected cost savings, operating expense reductions and synergies and any quality of earnings analysis prepared by independent certified public accountants in connection with an acquisition, merger, consolidation or other investment. The Senior Term Loan Facility and the Secured Notes Indenture use financial measures called “Consolidated EBITDA” or “EBITDA” and “Consolidated Net Income” that have substantially the same definitions to EBITDA and Consolidated Net Income, each as defined under the Revolving Credit Agreement.
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EBITDA as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility (referred to in this section as “Adjusted EBITDA”) is presented herein because it is a material component of the leverage ratio contained in the Revolving Credit Agreement. Non-compliance with the leverage ratio could result in the inability to use the Revolving Credit Facility, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position and cash flow. Adjusted EBITDA does not represent net income or cash from operating activities as those terms are defined by U.S. GAAP and does not necessarily indicate whether cash flows will be sufficient to fund cash needs. While Adjusted EBITDA and similar measures are frequently used as measures of operations and the ability to meet debt service requirements, these terms are not necessarily comparable to other similarly titled captions of other companies due to the potential inconsistencies in the method of calculation. Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of earnings or charges resulting from matters that we may consider not to be indicative of our ongoing operations. In particular, the definition of Adjusted EBITDA in the Revolving Credit Agreement allows us to add back certain non-cash, extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring charges that are deducted in calculating net income. However, these are expenses that may recur, vary greatly and are difficult to predict.
Adjusted EBITDA as presented below should not be used by investors as an indicator of performance for any future period. Further, our debt instruments require that it be calculated for the most recent four fiscal quarters. As a result, the measure can be disproportionately affected by a particularly strong or weak quarter. Further, it may not be comparable to the measure for any subsequent four-quarter period or any complete fiscal year. In addition, our debt instruments require that the leverage ratio be calculated on a pro forma basis for certain transactions including acquisitions as if such transactions had occurred on the first date of the measurement period and may include expected cost savings and synergies resulting from or related to any such transaction. There can be no assurances that any such cost savings or synergies will be achieved in full.
In addition, Adjusted EBITDA is a key measure used by our management to understand and evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Some of those limitations include: (1) it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenue for our business; (2) it does not reflect the significant interest expense or cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on our indebtedness; and (3) it does not reflect every cash expenditure, future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments. In particular, this measure adds back certain non-cash, extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring charges that are deducted in calculating net income; however, these are expenses that may recur, vary greatly and are difficult to predict. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA is not the same as net income or cash flow provided by operating activities as those terms are defined by U.S. GAAP and does not necessarily indicate whether cash flows will be sufficient to fund cash needs. Accordingly, Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, net income (loss) and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
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The following is a reconciliation of net income (loss), which is a U.S. GAAP measure of our operating results, to Adjusted EBITDA as defined, for the most recently ended four fiscal quarters, or the twelve months ended June 30, 2025, for the twelve months ended June 30, 2024 and for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024. In addition, the reconciliation includes the calculation of the Senior Secured Indebtedness to Adjusted EBITDA ratio, which we refer to as the Leverage Ratio, under the Revolving Credit Agreement for the most recently ended four fiscal quarters, or the twelve months ended June 30, 2025. The terms and related calculations are defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement. All amounts in the reconciliation below reflect Acquisition Corp. (in millions, except ratios):
Twelve Months Ended
June 30, Three Months Ended
June 30,
2025 2024 2025 2024
Net Income (loss)
$ 309 $ 584 $ (16) $ 141
Income tax expense 126 178 5 30
Interest expense, net 159 157 43 40
Depreciation and amortization 355 323 96 80
Net gains on divestitures and sale of securities
(29) (42) — (1)
Restructuring costs (a)
96 61 3 2
Net foreign exchange losses (gains) (b)
140 (17) 142 (2)
Transaction costs
6 8 3 2
Business optimization expenses (c)
96 98 23 27
Non-cash stock-based compensation expense (d)
67 35 16 10
Other non-cash charges (e)
102 56 72 1
Unrestricted subsidiary income (loss)
(10) — (6) —
Pro forma impact of cost savings initiatives and specified transactions (f)
302 113 75 22
Adjusted EBITDA $ 1,719 $ 1,554 $ 456 $ 352
Senior Secured Indebtedness (g)
$ 3,551
Leverage Ratio (h)
2.07x
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(a) Reflects severance costs and other restructuring related expenses, including those related to the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan as well as the Executive Transition Costs in both the current and prior year.
(b) Reflects unrealized losses (gains) due to foreign exchange on our Euro-denominated debt, losses (gains) from foreign currency forward exchange contracts and intercompany transactions.
(c) Reflects costs associated with our transformation initiatives and technology system updates, which includes costs of $19 million and $74 million related to our finance transformation for the three and twelve months ended June 30, 2025, respectively, as well as $18 million and $70 million for the three and twelve months ended June 30, 2024, respectively.
(d) Reflects non-cash stock-based compensation expense related to the Omnibus Incentive Plan.
(e) Reflects non-cash activity, including the unrealized losses (gains) on the mark-to-market adjustment of equity investments, investment losses (gains) and non-cash impairment losses resulting from the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan as well as an impairment charge of $70 million for long-lived assets associated with certain of the Company’s non-core e-tailer operations recognized in the current period.
(f) Reflects expected savings resulting from transformation initiatives, including the 2025 Restructuring Plan, the 2024 Strategic Restructuring Plan, and the 2023 Restructuring Plan, as well as the pro forma impact of certain specified transactions for the three and twelve months ended June 30, 2025. Certain of these cost savings initiatives and transactions impacted quarters prior to the quarter during which they were identified within the last twelve-month period. The pro forma impact of these specified transactions and initiatives resulted in a $168 million increase in the twelve months ended June 30, 2025 Adjusted EBITDA.
(g) Reflects the balance of senior secured debt at Acquisition Corp. of approximately $4.061 billion less cash of $510 million, which excludes cash held at Tempo, an unrestricted subsidiary.
(h) Reflects the ratio of Senior Secured Indebtedness, including Revolving Credit Agreement Indebtedness, to Adjusted EBITDA. This is calculated net of cash and equivalents of the Company as of June 30, 2025 not exceeding $750 million in accordance with the Sixth Revolving Credit Agreement Amendment. If the outstanding aggregate principal amount of borrowings and drawings under letters of credit which have not been reimbursed under our Revolving Credit Facility is greater than $140 million at the end of a fiscal quarter, the maximum leverage ratio permitted under the Revolving Credit Facility is 5.00:1.00. The Company’s Revolving Credit Facility does not impose any “leverage ratio” maintenance requirement on the Company when the aggregate principal amount of borrowings and drawings under letters of credit, which have not been reimbursed under the Revolving Credit Facility, is less than or equal to $140 million at the end of a fiscal
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quarter. On May 4, 2021, certain covenants set forth in our Revolving Credit Facility were suspended, including the restriction on incurring certain additional indebtedness, based on the determination that the total indebtedness to EBITDA ratio is below the required threshold specified therein. In connection with the acquisition of Tempo, the acquired entity was designated as an unrestricted subsidiary, and therefore net income and Adjusted EBITDA do not include the results of Tempo, and the Asset-Based Notes issued by a subsidiary of Tempo are not included in our indebtedness for purposes of calculating the Leverage Ratio.
Summary
Management believes that funds generated from our operations and borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility and available cash and equivalents will be sufficient to fund our debt service requirements, working capital requirements and capital expenditure requirements for the foreseeable future. We also have additional borrowing capacity under our indentures and the Senior Term Loan Facility. However, our ability to continue to fund these items and to reduce debt may be affected by general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors, as well as other industry-specific factors such as the ability to control music piracy and the continued transition from physical to digital formats in the recorded music and music publishing industries. It could also be affected by the severity and duration of geopolitical conflicts or natural or man-made disasters, including pandemics. We and our affiliates continue to evaluate opportunities to, from time to time, depending on market conditions and prices, contractual restrictions, our financial liquidity and other factors, seek to pay dividends or prepay outstanding debt or repurchase or retire Acquisition Corp.’s outstanding debt or debt securities or repurchase our outstanding equity securities in open market purchases, privately negotiated purchases or otherwise. The amounts involved in any such transactions, individually or in the aggregate, may be material and may be funded from available cash or from additional borrowings. In addition, from time to time, depending on market conditions and prices, contractual restrictions, our financial liquidity and other factors, we may seek to refinance the Senior Credit Facilities or our outstanding debt or debt securities with existing cash and/or with funds provided from additional borrowings.
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