We recently published a list of Billionaire Mason Morfit’s 10 Stock Picks with Highest Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) stands against Billionaire Mason Morfit’s other stock picks with highest upside potential.
Mason Morfit, the billionaire CEO of ValueAct Capital, runs one of Wall Street’s most respected activist hedge funds. Unlike funds that make headlines through hostile takeovers, ValueAct works quietly behind the scenes to unlock value with a significant record of successful investments. As a “soft activist,” the fund partners with company management to create reforms that help the business and its investors.
ValueAct was founded by Jeff Ubben in 2000, with Morfit taking over in 2020 as CEO. It has stuck to the fund’s disciplined style, promising “win-wins for our companies and our investors”. As of March 2021, with over $13 billion in assets under management, the company focuses on a small number of high-conviction investments, often holding positions for years to maximize returns.
ValueAct works by finding companies that markets don’t fully understand, undervalue, or that are changing in important ways. The company’s resolution stands out and goes well with today’s unpredictable market trends. With trade problems, higher tariffs, and regulatory pressure hurting investor confidence, especially in tech and entertainment, Morfit’s steady, fundamentals-based strategy sets it apart.
These strengths become even more relevant given the broader economic turbulence in recent years. Recent economic developments have stirred up changes all over the global markets. Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs triggered sell-offs across media and tech stocks, forcing companies to delay IPOs, postpone products, and rethink their supply chains. Bloomberg reported that entertainment companies’ stocks fell regardless of their actual trade exposure, as recession fears increased. In such an unsteady and unpredictable environment, spotting real opportunities has become harder but more crucial.
Considering these conditions, Morfit’s picks stand out because they blend resilience, innovation, and structural advantages that position these companies to succeed when markets stabilize. The combination of AI, digital transformation, and platform business models creates opportunities across industries, despite economic headwinds. By focusing on efficiency, margins, and long-term growth trends, ValueAct can invest with patience – a real advantage in today’s reactionary market.
Methodology
For this article, we analyzed Greenlight Capital’s Q4 2024 13F filings to identify Billionaire Mason Morfit’s 10 Stock Picks with the Highest Upside Potential. We then ranked the stocks in ascending order based on their estimated upside. These stocks are popular with elite hedge funds, which have been considered as well.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A group of people in a large music venue, enjoying a vibrant concert.
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV)
Potential Upside: 16.61%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) holds a key 3.13% chunk of Mason Morfit’s stock portfolio, worth about $137.5 million. The company is the lead player in live events worldwide, driven by its vertically integrated business model. It covers concert promotion, venue operation, sponsorships, and ticketing through Ticketmaster, a setup that has allowed Live Nation to dominate the growing entertainment sector.
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV)’s Q1 2025 earnings call showed how resilient its concert business is in these unsteady economic conditions as fans keep buying tickets. CEO Michael Rapino pointed out that people aren’t cutting back on shows, as seen in tours by Chris Brown, Lady Gaga, and Mumford & Sons, which are selling out fast. Moreover, over two-thirds of expected fan growth is projected for the second half of the year, signaling increased revenue in Q2 and Q3.
However, Ticketmaster’s numbers looked weak in Q1 because of delayed revenue, currency issues, particularly in Latin America, and fewer non-concert events. Still, management explained that concert-related future revenue was up by double digits, hinting at better profits when these events happen. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) bought Japan’s Hayashi International to grow in Asia. Additionally, its Venue Nation plan will add four new venues by year-end, with more coming in 2026, building up its owned locations.
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) recorded a 12% year-over-year increase in venue ticketing. While Ticketmaster’s revenue dropped due to timing issues, its deferred ticketing revenue jumped 13% in Q1. The company reported $2.5 billion in revenue and $115 million in operating income, with adjusted income of $341 million, about $361 million without currency effects. Concert-centered future revenue hit a record $5.4 billion, an increase of 24% from last year, while Ticketmaster’s deferred revenue rose 13% to $270 million. Moreover, global stadium ticket sales exploded by over 80%, helping sell 95 million tickets total, and Ticketmaster’s April concert sales volume shot up 45% YoY.
As a major part of Mason Morfit’s stock portfolio, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) stands to gain from the global demand for live shows, its growing venue network, and smarter pricing that cuts out scalpers and boosts profits.
Overall, LYV ranks 5th on our list of Billionaire Mason Morfit’s stock picks with highest upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of LYV, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LYV but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
