Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) Stock

Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) is a Communication Services stock trading at $27.09 (as of 2026-08-20), with a market capitalization of $13.43B and a trailing P/E of 29.7. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Warner Music Group is a music entertainment company operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other international markets. It runs through Recorded Music and Music Publishing, handling activities such as developing recording artists and managing music catalogs, while licensing and selling music and video products to retailers, distributors, and digital platforms.

Understand Warner Music Group Corp.: how it makes money

Warner Music Group (WMG) discovers, develops, and markets music artists and then earns money by selling and licensing recorded music, while also earning additional revenue from music publishing catalog rights.

WMG’s profit engine is rights-based, turning music catalogs into recurring revenue through licensing and ongoing catalog monetization (including compilations and reissues), with Recorded Music and Music Publishing operating as two linked sources of monetizable music rights.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
Recorded	$1.3B
Publishing	$0.3B

Business quality (Solid): Strong segment clarity (Recorded Music and Music Publishing), but the provided subcategory numbers (emerging streaming platforms) do not cleanly map to reportable segments, so segment totals are approximate.

Valuation: At 10× earnings, WMG trades 81% below the Entertainment average (53×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

Two revenue engines, Recorded Music and Music Publishing: WMG earns from both recorded music activities (including distribution, sale, and licensing of recordings) and music publishing activities tied to catalog rights.
Catalog monetization is built into the business model: Beyond new releases, WMG markets music catalogs through compilations and reissuances, and also includes previously unreleased materials, which supports continued monetization of rights.

Bear case

Exposure to streaming mix, including emerging platforms: A meaningful portion of activity is tracked via emerging streaming platform categories, so changes in platform economics, adoption, or revenue recognition could pressure results.
Licensing and promotional execution are critical: Recorded Music relies on discovery, development, marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing, so weaker execution across these areas can limit monetization of artist and catalog rights.

Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price	$27.09
Market Cap	$13.43B
P/E Ratio	29.7
EV / EBITDA	13.7
Price / Book	16.01
Price / Sales	1.88
Dividend Yield	2.9%
FCF Yield	5.4%
DCF Value (model)	$109114104.22
DCF Upside vs Price	402709271.5%

Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)	$6.71B
Net Margin	5.4%
Return on Equity	53.9%
Debt / Equity	5.62
Current Ratio	0.73
Revenue Growth (YoY)	16.7%
FCF Growth (YoY)	200.0%

Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score	0.55 (distress)

Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E	29.7
Sector P/E (Communication Services)	24.4
Industry P/E (Entertainment)	39.5
vs Sector	21.9%
vs Industry	-24.8%

Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional Holder	VANGUARD GROUP INC ($393.83M)
Institutional Holders Tracked	10

Company
Sector	Communication Services
Industry	Entertainment
CEO	Robert Kyncl
Employees	5,800
Country	US
IPO Date	2020-06-03

Related Companies (Business model: Consumer Subscription Content (Streaming, News, Audio); 8 closest by market cap; US-domiciled)

Data as of 2026-08-20.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.