Shares climbed as much as 15% in European morning
By Adrià Calatayud
Universal Music Group shares leapt after the music company showed signs of a recovery in a closely watched streaming-revenue metric, with a better-than-expected result for the third quarter.
Shares in UMG climbed as much as 15% in European morning trading Friday. If sustained until close, this would be the stock's biggest ever one-day percentage rise, according to FactSet data.
UMG has been under pressure this year amid investor fears about slowing growth in streaming revenue, the impact of artificial intelligence on the business, and ownership changes as Bill Ackman-led Pershing Square Capital exited its stake following a failed $65 billion takeover attempt. Even after Friday's jump, shares in UMG have shed nearly a fifth of their value since the start of 2026.
The company behind Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift has been the subject of speculation that it might go private. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources, that the company discussed a take-private deal with buyout groups. Executives at UMG declined to comment during a call with analysts on Thursday.
UMG reported a 9.5% increase in streaming-subscription revenue for the third quarter compared with the year-earlier period, excluding the contribution from its recent acquisition of Downtown and currency changes. Revenue from that segment totaled 1.42 billion euros ($1.59 billion), beating analysts' expectations of 1.31 billion euros, according to consensus estimates provided by Visible Alpha.
This showed an acceleration in UMG's subscription-streaming growth compared with the 6.7% increase the company reported for the prior quarter. At the time, investor worries about a slowdown triggered the worst one-day selloff for UMG shares since the company went public in 2021.
UMG's third-quarter results suggest the company can address investors' concerns, analysts at Bernstein wrote in a note to clients. While quarterly volatility is a feature of the music industry, what matters is that the streaming ecosystem is healthy, they added.
Overall third-quarter revenue rose 12% to 3.39 billion euros, UMG said. This compared with analysts' expectations of 3.33 billion euros, according to the Visible Alpha consensus.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were 729 million euros, up 9.8%.