MSGE 2027 會計年度第一季財報電話會議：演唱會業務成長帶動營收大增 37%

核心要點

• 2027 財年第一季營收年增 37% 至 2.171 億美元，主要受惠於麥迪遜廣場花園（Madison Square Garden）舉辦的演唱會場次增加以及每場演唱會營收提升。
• 調整後營業利潤增加 2,720 萬美元至 3,430 萬美元，係因營收成長足以抵銷高企的直接營運成本與銷售及管理費用（SG&A）。
• MSG Entertainment 透過 160 場現場活動接待超過 130 萬名賓客。在哈利·斯泰爾斯（Harry Styles）長達 30 夜駐場演出中的 16 場助攻下，麥迪遜廣場花園創下了單季演唱會場次紀錄。
• 管理層預期 2026 年「聖誕奇幻秀」（Christmas Spectacular）檔期將接待超過 120 萬名賓客，並創下營收新高。該檔期預計演出 231 場，高於去年的 215 場，刷新歷史紀錄。
• 該公司在本季度斥資 2,500 萬美元庫藏股回購約 31.4 萬股 A 類普通股。自 2023 年拆分上市以來，累計回購金額已達 2.3 億美元。
• 管理層持續預期 2027 全財年營收與調整後營業利潤將強勁成長，並帶來豐沛的潛在自由現金流。

核心財務數據

營收成長主要反映了娛樂項目的增加，特別是麥迪遜廣場花園演唱會場次增加及單場營收提高。餐飲與周邊商品營收亦有所成長。然而，公司旗下其他劇院演唱會場次減少抵銷了部分增幅。

業務與營運表現

演唱會需求維持強勁。本季絕大多數演唱會門票售罄，同時每位觀看演唱會觀眾的餐飲與周邊商品合計消費額年增率達雙位數百分比。未來兩個季度的演唱會售罄率也領先去年同期進度。

麥迪遜廣場花園已提前達成 2027 財年的演唱會預訂目標，而整體場館組合的預訂進度也已超過目標的 80%。儘管各季度時間安排有所差異，管理層仍預計麥迪遜廣場花園與劇院的年度演唱會場次均將成長。

哈利·斯泰爾斯在麥迪遜廣場花園完成了 30 夜的駐場演出，其中 16 場落在第一財季。管理層表示，即使扣除該駐場演出，麥迪遜廣場花園的基礎演唱會業務亦實現強勁成長，但並未具體量化其新增貢獻。

第 93 屆「聖誕奇幻秀」檔期預計演出 231 場，為該節目歷史最高紀錄。預售票營收進度優於去年同期。該檔期還新增了全新的大火箭女郎（Rockettes）表演片段及沉浸式舞台攝影技術，並持續採用 Sphere 沉浸式音效技術。

尊榮禮賓服務與行銷合作夥伴關係維持良好成長動能。包廂授權續約率超過 95%，且翻新後的活動層與 Lexus 層包廂帶動了額外營收。

紐約尼克隊（Knicks）與紐約遊騎兵隊（Rangers）在麥迪遜廣場花園展開了 2026-2027 賽季，其中尼克隊以 NBA 衛冕冠軍身分回歸。遊騎兵隊的拆分並未改變 MSG Entertainment 的球場授權協議。2027 財年授權費的現金部分將為 4,700 萬美元，並預計每年成長 3%，直至 2055 財年。

管理層業績展望

管理層預期 2027 財年營收與調整後營業利潤將強勁成長。同時，在調整後營業利潤提升的主要支撐下，預計潛在自由現金流將保持充沛。

預期抵銷因素包括淨利息支出、恢復全額現金納稅人身分、用於技術投資與部分包廂翻新的資本支出，以及營運資金變動的時間差。應付主辦方現金的部分迴轉已開始影響財報呈現的現金餘額。

在活動預訂方面，管理層預計總活動、演唱會與特別活動場次均將成長。公司目前預計家庭與表演藝術表演將少於原先規劃，但大型體育賽事將增加，包括 3 月在麥迪遜廣場花園舉行的 NCAA 區域賽。

在麥迪遜廣場花園，受活動時間安排影響，預計 12 月當季演唱會場次將有所增加，但 2027 財年下半年的排程進度目前較低。劇院演唱會場次預計在 12 月當季下滑，但在下半年回升。

風險與關注焦點

管理層正在密切關注總體經濟的波動，但表示本季消費者與企業需求依然強勁。

自由現金流將受利息支出、稅務、資本支出及營運資金波動影響。2026 財年與公司信用融資相關的淨利息支出合計為 3,200 萬美元。

Infosys Theater 的潛在轉讓仍取決於與主開發商簽署最終協議。目前尚未就所得資金的使用做出任何決定。管理層表示，將所有潛在收益重新投資於另一個美國國內場館，將是減少稅務流失的主要方式，且紐約可能會是首選考量地點。

分析師問答重點

• 聖誕奇幻秀：管理層表示預售票營收進度優於去年，並重申預期賓客將超過 120 萬名，且營收將創新高。
• 演唱會排程：麥迪遜廣場花園已略為超過其 2027 財年的預訂目標，而整體場館組合預訂率已達目標的 80% 以上。目前持續與藝人就公司旗下場館的未來駐場演出進行討論。
• 消費者支出：多數演唱會門票售罄，人均餐飲與周邊商品消費額成長達雙位數百分比，且多位藝人因應強勁需求加開場次。
• 資本配置：公司的首要任務仍是維持資產負債表健全、保持捕捉優質機會的靈活性，以及適時提供股東回報。管理層引用 9 月發生的 2,500 萬美元股票回購作為該策略的實例。
• Infosys Theater：潛在轉讓的時間點與稅務處理將取決於最終交易結構。管理層預期有足夠的時間來決定任何所得資金的部署方式。

法說會逐字稿全文

完整財報電話會議逐字稿

管理層陳述

Operator

Good morning. Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the call over to Ari Danes, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasury. Ari, please go ahead.

Ari Danes

Thank you, and welcome to MSG Entertainment's Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. On today's call, David Collins, our EVP and Chief Financial Officer, will provide an update on the company's operations and review our financial results for the period. After our prepared remarks, we'll open up the call for questions. If you do not have a copy of today's earnings release, it is available in the Investors section of our corporate website.

Please take note of the following. Today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the company's filings with the SEC for a discussion of risks and uncertainties. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements that may be discussed during this call.

On Pages 4 and 5 of today's earnings release, we provide consolidated statements of operations and a reconciliation of operating income to adjusted operating income, or AOI, a non-GAAP financial measure.

And with that, I'll turn the call over to David.

David Collins

Thank you, Ari, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to report that we're off to a strong start in fiscal 2027. For our first quarter, we generated revenues of $217 million and adjusted operating income of $34 million. These results represent significant year-over-year increases as we continue to benefit from robust ongoing demand for our offerings.

This past quarter, that strength was most notably reflected in our bookings business. And looking ahead, we anticipate that demand will also drive another record-setting run for the Christmas Spectacular, along with robust growth in revenue and AOI for the full fiscal year '27. That confidence in our outlook for the business also led us to repurchase approximately $25 million of our Class A common stock this past quarter as we continue to look for opportunities to return capital to our shareholders.

Let's now review some key operational highlights. During the quarter, we hosted over 1.3 million guests across 160 live events. This reflected broad-based booking strength from concerts, performing art shows to special events. That included the start of Harry Styles' 30-night residency during the quarter, which helped us deliver a new record for the number of concerts in any quarter at the Garden.

It also reflected a number of other unique events across our venues. That included Les Mis' multi-night run, and the return of the New York Philharmonic at Radio City Music Hall, both utilizing the venue's groundbreaking audio technology, Sphere Immersive Sound. In terms of consumer demand, the significant majority of our concerts were again sold out during the quarter. In addition, combined food, beverage and merchandise per cap spending at concerts was up a double-digit percentage year-over-year. Looking ahead, we remain on track to grow the total number of events at our venues in fiscal '27. This includes our expectations for growth in concerts this year at the Garden and our theaters.

With regards to the Knicks and Rangers, the teams began their '26-'27 regular seasons at the Garden last month, with the Knicks returning as defending NBA Champions. I would also note that last week, the Rangers business became a stand-alone public company after completing a spin-off from the Knicks business. The spin-off did not impact our Arena License Agreements with either team. This fiscal year, the cash component of the Arena license fees from those agreements will be $47 million and will continue to grow at 3% each year through fiscal 2055. And while still early, we are seeing positive momentum across our share of food, beverage and merchandise sales at Knicks and Rangers home games.

Turning to the Christmas Spectacular. The 93rd holiday season kicks off later today with 231 shows planned for this year's run. This represents the most shows ever in a season and compares to 215 performances last year. This year's production features several new elements, including the addition of a new Rockettes number. It also integrates multiple on-stage cameras to give audiences different perspectives of the Rockettes in real time as we leverage immersive technology to continue enhancing the experience.

Based on the demand we are seeing, we anticipate welcoming over 1.2 million guests to the Christmas Spectacular this holiday season, and we are confident we are on track to deliver another year of record revenues for the production.

Turning to marketing partnerships. We are seeing the positive momentum from fiscal '26 carry over into this new fiscal year. And in terms of premium hospitality, we are again seeing strong new sales and renewal activity for suites at the Garden. We also recently completed the renovation of several event and Lexus-level suites and are benefiting from the incremental revenue driven by these enhanced spaces.

Lastly, on the Penn Station redevelopment, we continue to work towards definitive agreements with a master developer on the potential transfer of the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden as part of their plans. We will keep you updated as we have more to share.

Now let's turn to our financial results. For the fiscal '27 first quarter, revenues were $217.1 million, up 37% year-over-year. This primarily reflected an increase in revenues from entertainment offerings and to a lesser extent, higher food, beverage and merchandise revenues. The increase in revenues from entertainment offerings as well as food, beverage and merchandise primarily reflected the increase in the number of concerts at the Garden during the quarter as well as higher per concert revenues.

In addition, revenues from other live entertainment and sporting events increased year-over-year, primarily due to an increase in the number of events at the company's venues and higher per event revenue. These increases were partially offset by fewer concerts at our theaters. First quarter adjusted operating income of $34.3 million increased $27.2 million as compared to the prior year quarter. This primarily reflects the robust increase in revenues, partially offset by higher direct operating and SG&A expenses.

Turning to our balance sheet. As of September 30, we had $194 million of unrestricted cash, while our debt balance was approximately $571 million. With respect to fiscal '27, we continue to expect to generate significant free cash flow on an underlying basis. This will primarily be driven by our substantial and growing adjusted operating income, partially offset by ongoing net interest payments related to our credit facilities, which totaled $32 million in fiscal '26, our status as a full cash taxpayer, capital expenditures, which will reflect some incremental spend related to technology investments across the company, and select suite renovations at the Garden, and the timing of working capital, including the partial reversal of the balance of our cash due to promoters due to the timing of events. You can see the start of that reversal in today's reported cash balance.

As I mentioned earlier, during the quarter, we repurchased approximately 314,000 shares of our Class A common stock for $25 million. Since our spin-off in 2023, we have repurchased approximately 6.4 million shares for $230 million. And going forward, we'll continue to explore ways to opportunistically return capital to shareholders.

So in summary, we are off to a great start this fiscal year. We remain confident in both the near- and long-term outlook for our business and our ability to drive shareholder value.

Before I turn the call back to Ari, I would like to take a moment to congratulate Josephine Vaccarello, who was recently named President of MSG Entertainment. Josephine, who has been with the company for nearly 30 years and previously served as Executive Vice President of Live, now oversees strategy and operations of multiple areas of our business. We look forward to having Josephine join us on future earnings calls.

With that, I'll now turn the call back over to Ari.

Ari Danes

Thanks, David. Operator, can we now open up the call for questions?

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Peter Henderson with Bank of America.

分析師問答

Peter Henderson

So with the Christmas Spectacular having its first show later today, as you mentioned, could you provide an update on like sell-through trends and pricing? And then just any thoughts you have on how the season will progress.

David Collins

Peter. Great. Thanks for the question. I mean, I have to say this year's production is seeing strong demand, and we are pleased to say that we expect to again host over 1.2 million guests at the show this holiday season. Advanced ticket revenue is currently pacing up as compared to the same time last year. Also, in terms of show count, we have 231 planned performances as compared to 215 last year. And that equates to a mid-single-digit percent increase in show count for this year.

In addition, the Christmas Spectacular continues to be a premium entertainment product and is still priced well below average ticket prices for comparable entertainment options. With that said, we continue to strategically manage, market and price our ticket inventory to make sure that we maximize revenue for every show.

I would again note that this year's show will include a new Rockettes scene as well as new immersive on-stage camera technology that will -- it will give audiences a different perspective on the production. In addition, this will be the second season that the production is utilizing Radio City's groundbreaking audio technology, what we call Sphere Immersive Sound. We believe that our continued innovation helps to drive interest in the show. And with that said, we remain confident in our ability to deliver strong growth in this business for this fiscal year.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Cameron Mansson-Perrone with Morgan Stanley.

Cameron Mansson-Perrone

I wanted to follow up on the concert outlook, specifically, any color you could share regarding bookings pacing across the venue portfolio through the remainder of fiscal '27? And then relatedly, the night splits, I think, were pretty equal from the Harry Styles residency between fiscal 1Q, fiscal 2Q. Just any color you'd be willing to provide on how that run specifically contributed to the concert strength in the quarter would be appreciated.

David Collins

Sure, Cameron. Thanks. As far as the concert bookings, as I mentioned earlier, we had a robust fiscal first quarter with the Garden shattering our record for the number of concerts in any quarter at the venue. Looking ahead, we now have -- we've slightly exceeded our concert bookings goal at the Garden for this fiscal year, and we are over 80% of the way there across our venue portfolios. And our goal does contemplate growth at both the Garden and our theaters.

So in the terms of the upcoming quarters, starting with the Garden, we continue to expect to be up in the December quarter in terms of the number of concerts, but we are currently pacing down in the back half of the year. However, we view that as just timing based on where concerts are landing during the fiscal year. At the theaters, we do continue to expect to be down in terms of the number of concerts in the December quarter. However, we are currently pacing up for the second half of fiscal '27. So I would say, all in all, we feel good about our start and remain confident that we're on track for growth at both the Garden and the theaters for this year.

As far as your question on the Harry Styles run, let me just say, obviously, we were pleased to have hosted Harry Styles for his record-setting 30-night run, which ended just this past weekend. That run took place every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night at the Garden for 10 straight weeks. 16 of those shows fell in our first fiscal quarter, so a little over half of the residency.

In terms of your question on incrementality, while it's difficult to answer that question with precision, we believe that the Garden did deliver robust growth in the number of concerts year-over-year on an underlying basis. Obviously, Harry Styles' run was an additional positive on top of that underlying strength. But we do believe the Garden delivered robust growth. So I would say the same also goes from a financial standpoint. So it's difficult to quantify, but I hope that's helpful.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of David Karnovsky with JPMorgan.

David Karnovsky

Just regarding Infosys Theater, on a prior earnings call, you talked about potentially shielding tax gains with reinvestment. Can you talk a little bit more to the mechanics here? So for instance, is there a time limit on when you'd have to invest? Do you have to use the full proceeds? And does that specifically have to be in New York City? Just any additional color would be great.

David Collins

Yes. Great, David. Thanks. Good question. As I had mentioned earlier, we are currently working through the definitive documents with the master developer team. And as of now, no decisions have been made in terms of the use of proceeds should the transfer actually be completed. That said, we remain mindful of the potential tax implications related to the transfer of the Infosys Theater.

As you alluded to in your question, the primary way for us to minimize the tax leakage would be to reinvest all of the potential proceeds in another domestic venue. So I would say that we are not limited to just the New York City market. However, I would also say that New York City is our core operating market. And with us having one less theater here, we would definitely most likely look to the New York market first.

In terms of any time limit that you had mentioned, it would ultimately depend on how the transfer of the theater ends up being structured. But in any case, we would expect to have ample time to determine the appropriate path forward. So we will definitely have more to share with you as we move through the process.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Stephen Laszczyk with Goldman Sachs.

Stephen Laszczyk

David, curious how you would characterize the pacing of concert sell-through and per cap spending so far this year and maybe how it relates to what you saw this time last year. Just would be curious if you're seeing any signs of the broader macro volatility showing up in consumer demand or perhaps even audience demographic shifts.

David Collins

Great. Thanks, Stephen. As always, we are certainly keeping a close eye on the macro environment, especially given the macro volatility that you mentioned. But I have to say, we continue to see strong consumer demand. There are a number of factors that I can share to support this view. As I mentioned earlier, the significant majority of concerts at our venues were again sold out this past quarter.

In addition, throughout the first fiscal quarter, we saw concerts perform better than we initially expected. We also saw combined F&B and merchandise per cap spending at concerts up double-digit percentages year-over-year. There are also a number of upcoming acts across our venues that we've added additional shows due to strong demand. And when we look at the next 2 quarters, the sell-through rate for concerts is currently pacing ahead of where it was the same time last year.

And lastly, you also heard me mention that we are seeing positive momentum in marketing partnerships and premium hospitality, and that includes strong new sales and renewals for suites. In fact, our renewal rate for suite licenses this fiscal year is over 95%. So given all this, even though we're paying close attention to the macro environment, we continue to see strong demand from both consumers and our corporate clientele.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of David Joyce with Seaport Research Partners.

David Joyce

I was wondering if you could please provide some more color on your outlook for the bookings growth by category and anything that we can be looking forward to for additional residencies? Just more color about the next year.

David Collins

Sure. Thanks, David. Well, let me start by saying that our financial outlook for our bookings business this year is stronger than when we last spoke to you in August. Underlying that statement is our continued expectation for growth in the number of booking events in fiscal '27. Starting with our concert category, as we've discussed, we anticipate another year of concert growth at the Garden as well as increases across our theaters. And we have continued to see concerts play out better than expected.

In terms of special events, we are also expecting an increase in the number of events, along with improved per-event economics. In terms of our family and performing arts category, we are now anticipating fewer shows than we initially contemplated. However, we are now expecting more marquee sports events than before, and that puts us on a path towards robust growth in that category. And obviously, that includes the NCAA regional tournament at the Garden in March.

So overall, we feel good about the outlook for our bookings business in fiscal '27.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Joe Stauff with Susquehanna.

Joseph Stauff

David, maybe a finer point to that last question and obviously related to others. But with the Harry Styles residency done, can you update us really on kind of what the pipeline looks like to replace and/or add on, whether it be this fiscal year or next?

David Collins

Sure, Joe. Thanks. Let me just say, we believe that there's a great value in bringing residencies to our venues. And as I've mentioned before, residencies build more of a recurring base of business for us, and they also increase visibility into our forward calendar. So booking residencies remains a really important area for our bookings business and is really a key focus of our team.

As you know, we have had a number of residencies across our venues in the first half of fiscal '27. Of course, that includes Harry Styles' 30 nights at the Garden. We had Bon Jovi and Phish also at the Garden this past summer. We have Joe Hisaishi at Radio City and Seth Meyers and John Oliver as well as Jerry Seinfeld have their long-running residencies at the Beacon Theater.

So just to reiterate, we are off to a strong start in terms of concert bookings for fiscal '27. And while it's early to discuss fiscal 2028 and beyond, let me just say that we are continuing to have discussions with other artists about future residences at all of our venues, including the Garden, and we will certainly keep you updated on that progress.

Operator

Your final question comes from the line of James Callahan with Piper Sandler.

James Callahan

David, as we move into 2027, how should investors think about free cash flow and therefore, return on capital?

David Collins

Sure, James. Thanks. As I had mentioned earlier, we continue to expect to generate significant free cash flow on an underlying basis in fiscal '27, and that will primarily be driven by our substantial and growing adjusted operating income. In terms of capital allocation, as you've heard us discuss before, we have 3 key priorities. The first is ensuring that we continue to have a strong balance sheet. Second is to ensure we have appropriate flexibility to pursue any compelling opportunities if and when they arise. And our third priority remains to opportunistically return capital to our shareholders.

So if we take a look at our recent buyback as an example, you saw in this past quarter that our stock price came down significantly. And we took advantage of that opportunity, and we repurchased $25 million of stock in September. And going forward, we will continue to explore ways such as that to opportunistically return capital to our shareholders.

Operator

We have reached the end of the Q&A session. I will now turn the call back to Ari for closing remarks.

Ari Danes

Thank you all for joining us. We will speak with you on our next earnings call. Have a good day.

Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.