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Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG)

Communication Services | Entertainment | New York, United States | NasdaqGS
28.03 USD -0.16 (-0.568%) ⇩ (Aug. 28, 2026, 4 p.m. EDT)
After hours: 28.03

Short-term:★★⯪☆☆Long-term:★★★⯪☆Dividends:★★★☆☆
Hot Take | Aug. 22, 2026, 6 a.m. EDT

Warner Music Group presents a compelling case for a medium-term swing trade driven by improving fundamentals and a bullish options skew, despite lingering balance sheet concerns. The company's trajectory is clearly positive; it has delivered three consecutive years of growth over the last five, with the most recent annual gain exceeding 16%. While the stock trades at a premium to book value, the forward P/E of roughly 14x suggests the market is pricing in meaningful earnings acceleration, supported by a robust 70% return on equity and double-digit revenue growth. However, the balance sheet remains a liability, with debt-to-equity soaring above 450%, which caps the long-term rating just shy of exceptional status. On the short end, the narrative is mixed: the statistical forecast model leans slightly negative due to recent price weakness, yet the options market is screaming 'upside,' with massive call open interest at $34 and $35. This divergence suggests smart money is betting on a catalyst—likely the upcoming earnings release—to unlock value. The dividend yield of nearly 3% provides a decent floor, though it is not the primary driver here. The setup favors a patient buyer looking for a breakout above the $28 resistance, with the options flow serving as a strong contrarian signal to the weak statistical forecast.

Model Selection — Backtest MAE (log-scale, lower is better)
ModelMAE
MSTL ✓0.065707
AutoARIMA0.106179
AutoETS0.106181
AutoTheta0.106313

Forecast horizon: 45 days | Selected: MSTL

Forecast Reliability
Score 44%
H-stat 4.59
Ljung-Box p 0.000
Jarque-Bera p 0.223
Excess Kurtosis -0.45
Attribute Value
Sector Communication Services
Ex Dividend Date 2026-08-19
Last Dividend Date 2026-08-19
Debt to Equity Ratio 452.947
Revenue per Share 13.994
Market Cap 14,662,766,592
Trailing P/E 22.60
Forward P/E 14.22
Beta 1.29
Profit Margins 9.20%
Website https://www.wmg.com

As of Aug. 22, 2026, 6 a.m. EDT: Speculators are positioning for a moderate upside move, evidenced by heavy open interest in out-of-the-money calls at the $34 and $35 strikes for November expiration, alongside significant volume at the $37 strike for January. This bullish skew contrasts sharply with put activity, which is concentrated near the money ($25-$26) and shows very low open interest at deep strikes, suggesting limited hedging demand against a crash. Implied volatility is elevated for near-term expirations, reflecting uncertainty around the upcoming earnings report, while the lack of deep ITM put positioning indicates the market views downside risk as manageable relative to the potential upside.


Dividend Data

Yield Summary
Last Yield 1yr Yield 3yr Avg 5yr Avg
0.74% 2.56% 2.36% 2.22%
Dividend History
Date Dividend Yield %
2026-08-20 0.20 0.738007
2026-05-26 0.19 0.549768
2026-02-18 0.19 0.649573
2025-11-19 0.19 0.622951
2025-08-20 0.19 0.585697
2025-05-27 0.18 0.688073
2025-02-24 0.18 0.505760
2024-11-19 0.18 0.546614
2024-08-27 0.18 0.618557
2024-05-22 0.17 0.542092
2024-02-21 0.17 0.489349
2023-11-20 0.17 0.536616
2023-08-23 0.17 0.522273
2023-05-22 0.16 0.609524
2023-02-17 0.16 0.482073
2022-11-21 0.16 0.593032
2022-08-23 0.16 0.563579
2022-05-20 0.15 0.504032
2022-02-17 0.15 0.413109
2021-11-22 0.15 0.350140
2021-08-24 0.15 0.413337
2021-05-21 0.12 0.347222
2021-02-19 0.12 0.329852
2020-11-23 0.12 0.428418
2020-08-24 0.12 0.398671
Additional Data
dividendRate 0.8
dividendYield 2.84
exDividendDate 2026-08-20
trailingAnnualDividendRate 0.76
trailingAnnualDividendYield 0.026959915
lastDividendValue 0.2
lastDividendDate 2026-08-20
dividendDate 2026-09-01

Info Dump

Attribute Value
52 Week Change -0.14859557
Address1 1,633 Broadway
All Time High 50.23
All Time Low 21.57
Ask 28.05
Ask Size 2
Audit Risk 4
Average Daily Volume10 Day 1,861,760
Average Daily Volume3 Month 2,171,214
Average Volume 2,171,214
Average Volume10Days 1,861,760
Beta 1.293
Bid 28.18
Bid Size 1
Board Risk 9
Book Value 1.633
City New York
Compensation As Of Epoch Date 1,767,139,200
Compensation Risk 8
Country United States
Crypto Tradeable 0
Currency USD
Current Price 28.03
Current Ratio 0.734
Custom Price Alert Confidence HIGH
Date Short Interest 1,786,665,600
Day High 28.645
Day Low 27.81
Debt To Equity 452.947
Display Name Warner Music
Dividend Date 1,788,220,800
Dividend Rate 0.8
Dividend Yield 2.84
Earnings Call Timestamp End 1,785,961,800
Earnings Call Timestamp Start 1,785,961,800
Earnings Timestamp 1,785,960,000
Earnings Timestamp End 1,795,118,400
Earnings Timestamp Start 1,795,118,400
Ebitda 1,672,000,000
Ebitda Margins 0.22892
Enterprise To Ebitda 11.481
Enterprise To Revenue 2.628
Enterprise Value 19,195,766,784
Eps Current Year 1.78149
Eps Forward 1.97057
Eps Trailing Twelve Months 1.24
Esg Populated 0
Ex Dividend Date 1,787,184,000
Exchange NMS
Exchange Data Delayed By 0
Exchange Timezone Name America/New_York
Exchange Timezone Short Name EDT
Fifty Day Average 27.2915
Fifty Day Average Change 0.7385006
Fifty Day Average Change Percent 0.027059728
Fifty Two Week Change Percent -14.859557
Fifty Two Week High 35.42
Fifty Two Week High Change -7.3899975
Fifty Two Week High Change Percent -0.20863913
Fifty Two Week Low 23.34
Fifty Two Week Low Change 4.6900005
Fifty Two Week Low Change Percent 0.2009426
Fifty Two Week Range 23.34 - 35.42
Financial Currency USD
First Trade Date Milliseconds 1,591,191,000,000
Five Year Avg Dividend Yield 2.12
Float Shares 145,806,386
Forward Eps 1.97057
Forward P E 14.224311
Free Cashflow 382,249,984
Full Exchange Name NasdaqGS
Full Time Employees 5,500
Fullday Change -0.16
Fullday Change Percent -0.567577
Fullday Price 28.03
Gmt Off Set Milliseconds -14,400,000
Governance Epoch Date 1,785,542,400
Gross Margins 0.45769
Gross Profits 3,343,000,064
Has Pre Post Market Data 1
Held Percent Insiders 0.0105
Held Percent Institutions 1.11292
Implied Shares Outstanding 523,109,769
Industry Entertainment
Industry Disp Entertainment
Industry Key entertainment
Ipo Expected Date 2,020-06-03
Is Earnings Date Estimate 1
Language en-US
Last Dividend Date 1,787,184,000
Last Dividend Value 0.2
Last Fiscal Year End 1,759,190,400
Long Business Summary Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The company is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials. It also owns and acquires rights to approximately two million musical compositions comprising pop hits, American standards, folk songs, and motion picture and theatrical compositions, as well as administers the music and soundtracks of various third-party television and film producers and studios. In addition, the company conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Sire, Spinnin' Records, and Warner Classics and Warner Records Nashville. Further, it markets, distributes, and sells music and video products to retailers and wholesale distributors; independent labels to retail and wholesale distributors; and various distribution centers and ventures, as well as retail outlets, online physical retailers, streaming services, and download services. Its catalog includes songwriters and composers; and various genres, including pop, rock, jazz, classical, country, R&B, hip-hop, rap, reggae, Latin, folk, alternative, blues, gospel, and other Christian music. The company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Long Name Warner Music Group Corp.
Market us_market
Market Cap 14,662,766,592
Market State CLOSED
Max Age 86,400
Message Board Id finmb_734078
Most Recent Quarter 1,782,777,600
Net Income To Common 665,000,000
Next Fiscal Year End 1,790,726,400
Non Diluted Market Cap 14,749,079,936
Number Of Analyst Opinions 17
Open 28.4
Operating Cashflow 939,000,000
Operating Margins 0.16738
Overall Risk 9
Payout Ratio 0.608
Peg Ratio 0.5
Phone 212 275 2000
Post Market Change 0.0
Post Market Change Percent 0.0
Post Market Price 28.03
Post Market Time 1,787,959,806
Previous Close 28.19
Price Eps Current Year 15.734021
Price Hint 2
Price To Book 17.164728
Price To Sales Trailing12 Months 2.0074983
Profit Margins 0.092
Quick Ratio 0.501
Quote Source Name Nasdaq Real Time Price
Quote Type EQUITY
Recommendation Key none
Region US
Regular Market Change -0.16
Regular Market Change Percent -0.567577
Regular Market Day High 28.645
Regular Market Day Low 27.81
Regular Market Day Range 27.81 - 28.645
Regular Market Open 28.4
Regular Market Previous Close 28.19
Regular Market Price 28.03
Regular Market Time 1,787,947,200
Regular Market Volume 1,346,536
Return On Assets 0.07651
Return On Equity 0.70074
Revenue Growth 0.104
Revenue Per Share 13.994
Sand P52 Week Change 0.20504117
Sector Communication Services
Sector Disp Communication Services
Sector Key communication-services
Share Holder Rights Risk 10
Shares Outstanding 147,729,456
Shares Percent Shares Out 0.0186
Shares Short 9,722,273
Shares Short Previous Month Date 1,784,073,600
Shares Short Prior Month 11,068,308
Short Name Warner Music Group Corp.
Short Percent Of Float 0.0849
Short Ratio 4.42
Source Interval 15
State NY
Symbol WMG
Target High Price 46.0
Target Low Price 23.0
Target Mean Price 36.88235
Target Median Price 39.0
Total Cash 618,000,000
Total Cash Per Share 1.181
Total Debt 4,919,000,064
Total Revenue 7,304,000,000
Tradeable 0
Trailing Annual Dividend Rate 0.76
Trailing Annual Dividend Yield 0.026959915
Trailing Eps 1.24
Trailing P E 22.60484
Trailing Peg Ratio 0.5051
Triggerable 1
Two Hundred Day Average 28.71645
Two Hundred Day Average Change -0.68644905
Two Hundred Day Average Change Percent -0.023904385
Type Disp Equity
Volume 1,346,536
Website https://www.wmg.com
Zip 10,019