# Sphere Entertainment (SPHR.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/SPHR

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:32:03.969Z. Financial observations: FY2016–FY2025.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $108.85 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 4 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- negative average operating margin

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 4

- Years with a net loss: 6

- Operating margin variation: 1.54×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -0.05×

- FY2017: -0.14×

- FY2018: -0.03×

- FY2019: -0.04×

- FY2020: 0.16×

- FY2021: 0.10×

- FY2022: -0.27×

- FY2023: -0.48×

- FY2024: -0.33×

- FY2025: -0.12×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- ROIC, median of available years: -4.7%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -8.7%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: -4.0 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 42.7%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 46.7%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 23.6%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: -2.5%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -5.4%

- FY2017: -8.7%

- FY2018: -2.0%

- FY2019: -2.8%

- FY2020: 11.1%

- FY2021: 1.9%

- FY2022: -7.1%

- FY2023: -5.4%

- FY2024: -9.3%

- FY2025: -4.1%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- working capital as a share of revenue rose more than 10pp and ends positive

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: -$1.8B

- Net income, five-year total: -$7.0M

- Return on incremental invested capital: -2.1%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 4.6 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 31.0 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 39.0%

Chart: Owner earnings · five years; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: -$478M

- FY2022: -$875M

- FY2023: -$569M

- FY2024: -$201M

- FY2025: $317M

### management: pass

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: -5.4% vs -5.4%

- Per-share earnings: -3.16 to 0.74 (three-year endpoint medians)

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 5.9%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 5.9%

- Per-share value change: $3.89

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: -$3.16

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $0.74

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.14

- Average buyback yield: 5.3%

- Buyback history: 6 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: -$12M

- ROIC, first three-year median: -5.4%

- ROIC, last three-year median: -5.4%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -$3.16

- FY2017: -$4.61

- FY2018: $0.29

- FY2019: -$0.34

- FY2020: $5.34

- FY2021: -$4.33

- FY2022: -$5.67

- FY2023: $14.39

- FY2024: -$5.68

- FY2025: $0.74

### accounting: fail

- restructuring or one-time charges in at least three of five years

- stock compensation exceeds 15% of operating cash flow

- Sloan accruals: -4.7%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 0.72×

- Restructuring years, last five: 4

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 24.2%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 7.28×

- Accounting red flags: 2

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.16×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -5.7%

- FY2017: -5.5%

- FY2018: -4.2%

- FY2019: -3.3%

- FY2020: 2.3%

- FY2021: 2.7%

- FY2022: -6.1%

- FY2023: 7.0%

- FY2024: -3.8%

- FY2025: -4.7%

## Holders

- [John Rogers](https://gigainvestors.com/AI): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Dan Davidowitz](https://gigainvestors.com/pcm): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Down 37% since Jun 2026 · "Sphere Entertainment Stock Sinks as Analysts Say ‘Wizard of Oz’ Demand Cools" (finance.yahoo.com, Oct 2026) · sales +18.8%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:59:37.232Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +18.8%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795250/000162828026007760/sphr-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-12.

- FY2016: $1.1B 

- FY2017: $711M 

- FY2018: $989M 

- FY2019: $1.0B 

- FY2020: $1.4B 

- FY2021: $648M 

- FY2022: $610M 

- FY2023: $574M 

- FY2024: $1.0B 

- FY2025: $1.2B 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 51.6%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795250/000162828026007760/sphr-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-12.

- FY2016: 33.8% 

- FY2017: 27.3% 

- FY2018: 35.8% 

- FY2019: 36.1% 

- FY2020: 45.0% 

- FY2021: 59.4% 

- FY2022: 47.5% 

- FY2023: 40.4% 

- FY2024: 46.7% 

- FY2025: 51.6% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in entertainment; annual sales are USD 1.2 billion.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795250/000162828026007760/sphr-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-12); FY2025: revenue 1220045000; grossProfit 630066000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); SPHR.US: Sphere Entertainment Co. operates as a live entertainment and media company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Sphere and MSG Networks. The Sphere segment offers entertainment medium powered by technologies to create multi-sensory experiences. The MSG Networks segment provides regional sports and entertainment networks; direct-to-consumer and authenticated streaming products, as well as sports content, including live local games and other programming. The company was formerly known as Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. and changed its name to Sphere Entertainment Co. in April 2023. Sphere Entertainment Co. was founded in 2006 and is based in New York, New York.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 40.4% to 51.6% during 2023–25; it lost 4.7% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 40.4%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 46.7%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795250/000162828026007760/sphr-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-12); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 51.6%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,-0.05355122563698207],[2017,-0.08682284354949492],[2018,-0.020413561472518722],[2019,-0.028349715138393395],[2020,0.11122566789832188],[2021,0.019006083988318816],[2022,-0.07094259994538385],[2023,-0.053515595082086836],[2024,-0.09281840733924739],[2025,-0.04138470563126191]]; median -0.047450150356674374. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 5 of 10 years; bought back USD 50 million of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2016: growth capex 0; upkeep 0; owner earnings 25192000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2018: growth capex 75304000; upkeep 112058000; cash acquisitions 6107000; owner earnings 6898000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 11.802116555523341.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); FY2020: growth capex 340364000; upkeep 112062000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 181734000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 1.8728691384110843.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795250/000162828026007760/sphr-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-12); FY2025: growth capex 0; upkeep 52347000; owner earnings 317469000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); Dividend observations: [[2016,0],[2017,0],[2018,0],[2019,0],[2020,1771000],[2021,1771000],[2022,2256000],[2023,121507000],[2024,121507000],[2025,0]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795250/000162828026007760/sphr-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-12); FY2025: cash repurchases 50024000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 6.7% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); SPHR.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 6.721000000000001 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price is 4 times annual sales.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-12); Closing price 108.85 USD; reporting-to-trading FX 1; FY2025 annual sales per share 26.933749834429776; price multiple 4.041397899257814. FY2025 cash earnings/share 7.008455119431321. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2020-04: $38.20 per share

- 2020-05: $36.60 per share

- 2020-06: $34.64 per share

- 2020-07: $32.73 per share

- 2020-08: $34.72 per share

- 2020-09: $31.64 per share

- 2020-10: $30.02 per share

- 2020-11: $35.11 per share

- 2020-12: $48.52 per share

- 2021-01: $40.99 per share

- 2021-02: $49.78 per share

- 2021-03: $37.78 per share

- 2021-04: $41.85 per share

- 2021-05: $41.21 per share

- 2021-06: $38.79 per share

- 2021-07: $32.31 per share

- 2021-08: $37.04 per share

- 2021-09: $33.57 per share

- 2021-10: $32.55 per share

- 2021-11: $30.54 per share

- 2021-12: $32.49 per share

- 2022-01: $32.72 per share

- 2022-02: $36.19 per share

- 2022-03: $38.48 per share

- 2022-04: $33.83 per share

- 2022-05: $31.31 per share

- 2022-06: $24.30 per share

- 2022-07: $26.90 per share

- 2022-08: $25.66 per share

- 2022-09: $20.36 per share

- 2022-10: $22.65 per share

- 2022-11: $22.23 per share

- 2022-12: $20.77 per share

- 2023-01: $24.15 per share

- 2023-02: $27.96 per share

- 2023-03: $27.28 per share

- 2023-04: $28.14 per share

- 2023-05: $23.87 per share

- 2023-06: $27.39 per share

- 2023-07: $42.45 per share

- 2023-08: $35.06 per share

- 2023-09: $37.16 per share

- 2023-10: $32.91 per share

- 2023-11: $34.22 per share

- 2023-12: $33.96 per share

- 2024-01: $35.38 per share

- 2024-02: $43.30 per share

- 2024-03: $49.08 per share

- 2024-04: $38.86 per share

- 2024-05: $36.50 per share

- 2024-06: $35.06 per share

- 2024-07: $44.48 per share

- 2024-08: $46.60 per share

- 2024-09: $44.18 per share

- 2024-10: $41.81 per share

- 2024-11: $41.15 per share

- 2024-12: $40.32 per share

- 2025-01: $46.60 per share

- 2025-02: $43.63 per share

- 2025-03: $32.72 per share

- 2025-04: $27.25 per share

- 2025-05: $37.70 per share

- 2025-06: $41.80 per share

- 2025-07: $43.05 per share

- 2025-08: $45.31 per share

- 2025-09: $62.12 per share

- 2025-10: $68.48 per share

- 2025-11: $84.59 per share

- 2025-12: $95.08 per share

- 2026-01: $95.51 per share

- 2026-02: $119.01 per share

- 2026-03: $117.40 per share

- 2026-04: $142.45 per share

- 2026-05: $138.48 per share

- 2026-06: $173.03 per share

- 2026-07: $143.25 per share

- 2026-08: $136.30 per share

- 2026-09: $134.44 per share

- 2026-10: $108.85 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2020: low $38.93 per share, central $39.38 per share, high $39.97 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1795250/000162828026007760/sphr-20251231.htm); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-12.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.