By Dean Seal

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment are trading higher after the company reported record first-quarter demand and its finance chief said a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster by federal regulators was unlikely.

The stock was up 9.4% at $96.57. Shares are now in positive territory year-to-date and were trading around $67 this time a year ago.

Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold said on an analyst call after Thursday's closing bell that the Justice Department is investigating specific business practices and isn't probing the legality of Live Nation's 2010 merger with Ticketmaster, or the company's overall business structure.

The company doesn't believe a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster would be legally allowable, according to Berchtold.

"The DOJ has repeatedly stated in court filings that the merger and settlement were in the public interest," the CFO said.

The world's largest concert promoter also reported Thursday that revenue rose 21% in the first quarter to $3.8 billion, handily topping the $3.26 billion consensus estimate of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue from concerts surged 26% to a first-quarter record high of $2.88 billion, while ticketing revenue rose 7% to $732.2 million. Berchtold told analyst that Live Nation is "seeing no weakness" in consumer demand.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-03-24 1215ET