LiveOne Inc (LVO) (Q2 2027) Earnings Call Highlights: Record EBITDA, Major B2B Partnerships and ... GuruFocus News Thu, November 12, 2026 at 8:04 PM EST 7 min read LVO +5.40% T -0.36% 005930.KS +2.40% V -1.13% AMZN +0.97% Explore stocks on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) reported record first-half EBITDA of $7.8 million, up 619% year-over-year, with consolidated adjusted EBITDA improving by $6.4 million.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) has secured major B2B partnerships with AT&T, Visa, LG, Samsung, Amazon, and Paramount, providing access to billions of potential users.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) reduced its workforce from 350 to about 80 employees, significantly lowering its cost structure and improving bottom-line focus.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) expects to launch its largest B2B partnership before year-end, targeting over 50 million monthly paying subscribers, which underpins guidance of over $100 million in revenue next year.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) repurchased $7 million of stock and the CEO personally committed to buying a large block of shares, signaling confidence in the company's future.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) lost $55 million in revenue and $15 million in EBITDA from the termination of its Tesla partnership, demonstrating customer concentration risk.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) declined to provide specific details on the structure of its upcoming major partnership, including minimum revenue commitments or subscriber acquisition terms, leaving investors uncertain about the $100 million guidance.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) has not yet reported any paid subscriber additions from its smart TV OEM partnerships announced in February and March, raising questions about conversion effectiveness.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) experienced a meaningful decline in podcast downloads to 15 million over the last five to six months, which could pressure future advertising revenue.
LiveOne Inc (NASDAQ:LVO) has a history of partnerships that take time to scale, and management acknowledged that not all B2B partners will succeed, creating uncertainty around growth projections.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with LVO.
Is LVO fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator.
Q: Can you provide details on the structure of the upcoming partnership with the $50 million member company to support the $100 million guidance for next year? Is there a minimum contribution committed, and will consumers opt in and pay or will the partner subsidize subscribers? A: CEO Rob Ellin declined to disclose specific terms but said the deal will be structured similarly to the Tesla partnership, spanning free, premium and paid subscription tiers. He noted the partner is highly incentivized to drive conversions because it wants to keep its large, already-paying consumer base engaged, and that only a small conversion percentage would be needed to significantly exceed prior Tesla results. He said the full launch is expected before year-end and more details will be shared soon.
Q: How does this partnership compare to the original Tesla deal, where Tesla paid for subscribers rather than consumers? A: CEO Rob Ellin said the early Tesla arrangement was small and targeted a high-end customer, starting at roughly $200,000 a month before growing to $55 million, with most revenue ultimately coming from subscribers paying for connectivity themselves. He suggested the new partner's much larger, transaction-active audience could produce a far bigger outcome than Tesla, and that the company believes its guidance is conservative.
Q: You announced B2B partnerships with three of the largest smart TV OEMs in February and March. Can you share paid subscriber additions or evidence of how you are attracting paid subscribers from those relationships? A: CEO Rob Ellin said no numbers have been disclosed yet because the launches only recently began. He stressed that LiveOne spends essentially nothing on marketing, relying on partners to market to their large audiences, and that only a small conversion rate is needed. He pointed to Pluto TV growing from a tiny deal to over $25 million a year and Amazon scaling similarly, saying such partnerships grow slowly before accelerating.
Q: PodcastOne cited 15 million downloads, which looks like a meaningful decline over the last five to six months. How are you thinking about year-over-year revenue trends for the remainder of the year, including CPM and volume? A: CEO Rob Ellin pointed to the company's guidance of $70 million to $75 million in revenue for the year, noting $37 million was already booked in the first half. He said the focus in the current environment is on the bottom line rather than download volume trends.
Q: What is the outlook for revenue and adjusted EBITDA this year and beyond, and what supports those targets? A: CEO Rob Ellin guided to $70 million to $75 million in revenue and more than $10 million in adjusted EBITDA for the current year, then over $100 million in revenue next year and over $250 million within 36 months. He said the targets are driven by launches with large B2B partners, including one expected to reach more than 50 million monthly paying subscribers, and do not include potential licensing of 750,000 hours of audio and video content to LLMs, where more than $10 million in deals are in the pipeline.
Q: How did the company perform in the first half, and how did it offset the loss of the Tesla partnership? A: CEO Rob Ellin reported first-half revenue of $37.3 million and record EBITDA of $7.8 million, up 619%, with consolidated adjusted EBITDA improving by $6.4 million year over year. He said the company absorbed the loss of $55 million in revenue and $15 million in EBITDA from Tesla, while retaining an in-perpetuity branded button on every Tesla home screen with over 1 million users today.
Q: What is the status of the B2B partnership pipeline beyond the upcoming launch? A: CEO Rob Ellin said the company has announced partnerships with companies reaching billions of people, including AT&T Mobility with 63 million users, Vizio with 65 million users and expansion into Walmart and Sam's Club, plus LG, Samsung, Amazon and Paramount. He said there are still over 75 active partner discussions globally across carriers, retailers, social media and AI companies, and that the upcoming launch could open the floodgates for the rest of the pipeline.
Q: How is the company managing costs, and what is the current valuation picture? A: CEO Rob Ellin said headcount has been cut from 350 to about 80, aided by AI, to reach EBITDA-positive levels and focus on the bottom line. He noted the company has a roughly $36 million to $38 million market cap against about $70 million in revenue, trading at roughly half of revenue while the industry trades at three times revenue or more, and said LiveOne bought back $7 million of stock, with Ellin personally committed to buying a large block after the major launch.
Q: What other growth avenues exist beyond B2B distribution? A: CEO Rob Ellin highlighted two additional windows: licensing 750,000 hours of audio and video content to LLMs and AI businesses, with over $10 million in potential deals in the pipeline, and television, with original podcasts already at three major networks and expectations that a show, documentary or movie will be greenlit by a major streaming platform this year. He also noted content is now on Netflix, Disney and Hulu for the first time.
Q: What management changes are planned as the company scales? A: CEO Rob Ellin said LiveOne plans to strengthen its team and expects to announce a new President by year-end. He described the incoming executive as having built and led companies with over $1 billion in value across public and private media and technology sectors, with a sharp focus on B2B deals, which he said is the next phase needed to reach the $250 million revenue goal within 36 months.
Q: How is the podcast business performing? A: CEO Rob Ellin said PodcastOne has ranked in the top 10 for 12 straight months and was number six last month, with record revenue and record EBITDA for the half-year, its best numbers in history.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
