WMG vs LION Stock Comparison

Warner Music and Lionsgate Studios Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WMG Warner Music Group Corp.
$30.86 +13.6% 1M -7.5% 1Y
Market cap
$11.36B
P/E
16.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.30B
Div. yield
–
Music Communication Services
6 wins
LION Lionsgate Studios Corp.
$12.51 +12.2% 1M +95.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.55B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.88B
Div. yield
–
Film and Television Communication Services
2 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Warner Music leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Warner Music 6, Lionsgate Studios 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionWMGLIONLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.36B $3.55B WMG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.9x -30.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.3x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.9% +9.9% WMG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.2% -4.1% WMG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.6% 18.4% LION
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 9.5x WMG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.5% +95.2% LION
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.4%/yr — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.3% 49.1% WMG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 39/100 WMG

Percentile Scorecard

WMGLION

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisWMGLION
Valuation 40 #75 of 124 35 #81 of 124
Growth 82 #21 of 109 98 #3 of 109
Profitability 85 #17 of 107 41 #64 of 107
Financial Health 28 #96 of 133 11 #119 of 133
Shareholder Returns 36 #47 of 73 13 #64 of 73
Overall 54 39
  • WMG ranked among 136 companies in Communication Services
  • LION ranked among 136 companies in Communication Services

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodWMGLIONSPY
1 month +13.6%+12.2% -1.0%
3 months +16.2%-6.2% +2.9%
6 months +6.6%+9.4% +6.4%
Year to date +0.6%+37.0% +11.4%
1 year -7.5%+95.2% +13.1%
3 years -4.5%+19.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year -1.5%+6.1% +21.5%
5 years -35.3%— +67.7%
5 years, per year -8.4%— +10.9%

Risk

MeasureWMGLIONSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.3%49.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.1%39.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.450.80 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.211.94 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.9%-55.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.1%-23.7% -2.5%
52-week high $34.72$16.40 $779.14
52-week low $23.65$6.23 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleWMGLION
P/E now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 17.2x -30.8xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.1x 1.3xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.2xmedian 9.5x 33.5xmedian 9.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 9.5x 38.2xmedian 9.5x
P/B now vs peer median 16.9xmedian 1.6x -3.1xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 1.09median 0.29 —median 0.29

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsWMGLION
Revenue $7.30B $2.88B
Gross profit $3.34B –
Operating income $1.00B $133.20M
Net income $672.00M -$118.80M
Free cash flow $836.00M $97.40M
EPS (diluted) $1.28 $-0.41
Cash & equivalents $618.00M $425.80M
Total debt $4.71B $1.90B
Shares (diluted) 524.42M 291.60M
Enterprise value $8.72B $2.40B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricWMGLION
P/E 17.2x -30.8x
P/FCF 19.3x 38.2x
P/Operating cash flow 17.2x 33.8x
P/S 2.2x 1.3x
P/B 16.9x -3.1x
P/Tangible book -7.5x -3.0x
EV/EBITDA 14.2x 33.5x
EV/EBIT 20.2x 39.0x
EV/Revenue 2.8x 1.8x
EV/FCF 24.2x 53.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.5x 47.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.09 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWMGLION
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.9% 9.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.8% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.9% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 44.1% 2,284%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.5% –
Net income growth (1Y) 126.3% 71.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) 62.0% 73.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 15.8% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 25.0% 284.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.5% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 37.7% 234.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWMGLION
Gross margin 45.8% –
EBITDA margin 19.5% 5.4%
Operating margin 13.7% 4.6%
Pretax margin 12.0% -3.3%
Net margin 9.2% -4.1%
FCF margin 11.4% 3.4%
Operating cash flow margin 12.9% 3.8%
Return on equity 74.2% –
Return on assets 6.2% -2.2%
Return on invested capital 13.6% 18.4%
Return on capital employed 16.1% 6.6%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x -0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 4.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWMGLION
Debt / assets 43.9% 35.7%
Debt / equity 4.9x -1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 9.5x
Debt / FCF 5.6x 19.5x
Liabilities / assets 91.1% 122.5%
Equity / assets 8.9% -22.5%
Interest coverage – 0.5x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.4x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.71 -0.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWMGLION
Dividend yield 2.5% –
Net buyback yield 0.4% -0.2%
Shareholder yield 2.9% -0.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusWMGLION
Forward P/E 21.3xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $1.45FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +110.1%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +17.9% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.63BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +13.8%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after -1.1% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWMGLION
Held by institutions 100.0% 89.1%
Institutions holding 339 291
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.2% +1.3%
Institutions buying 202 155
Institutions selling 103 85
Buyers to sellers 1.96 1.82

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

WMGLION
WMG 1.00 0.18
LION 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WMG and LION?

Warner Music (WMG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Warner Music (WMG) $11.36B, Lionsgate Studios (LION) $3.55B.

Which company is growing faster?

Warner Music (WMG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Warner Music (WMG) +12.9%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) +9.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Warner Music (WMG) has the highest net margin (Warner Music (WMG) 9.2%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) -4.1%). On return on invested capital, Lionsgate Studios (LION) leads (Warner Music (WMG) 13.6%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) 18.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lionsgate Studios (LION) returned the most: Warner Music (WMG) -7.5%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) +95.2%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Warner Music (WMG) has been the steadiest (Warner Music (WMG) 35.3%, Lionsgate Studios (LION) 49.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do WMG and LION move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.18, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, WMG and LION?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Warner Music (WMG) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.