LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO) Issues Stockholder Letter

Rhea-AI Summary

LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO) released a stockholder letter highlighting significant achievements and strategic initiatives. The company completed a $45 million restructuring, including a $10 million equity financing at $7.50 per share. LiveOne reduced its workforce from 300+ to 95 employees and eliminated $14 million in short-term liabilities.

The company holds $18+ million in cash, including $5 million in Bitcoin, and closed 6 B2B deals worth $50 million in revenue. Its subsidiary PodcastOne reported Q1 Fiscal 2026 revenue of $14.5M+ (19% YoY increase) and raised guidance to $55-60 million for Fiscal 2026. LiveOne is exploring strategic options including potential IPO or merger of Slacker, while continuing its stock buyback program with $5.5 million remaining.

Positive

• Completed $45 million restructuring with significant cost reductions
• Secured $10 million equity financing at $7.50 per share
• Eliminated $14 million in short-term liabilities
• Closed 6 B2B deals generating $50 million in revenue
• PodcastOne achieved record Q1 FY2026 with $14.5M+ revenue (19% YoY growth)
• Strong cash position of $18+ million including $5M in Bitcoin
• Management committed to purchasing up to $3M in company shares

Negative

• Significant workforce reduction from 300+ to 95 employees
• Required reverse stock split to maintain Nasdaq listing
• Trading at 60% of revenues, significantly below industry average of 3.3x

Insights

Financial Analyst

LiveOne reports major restructuring completion, strong B2B deals, and Bitcoin treasury program while signaling significant undervaluation against peers.

LiveOne's shareholder letter demonstrates substantial organizational restructuring with tangible financial impacts. The company has completed a $45 million restructuring initiative, reducing its workforce by over 68% (from 300+ to 95 employees) while leveraging AI for operational efficiency. This dramatic headcount reduction typically signals either severe financial pressure or a strategic pivot toward automation.

The financial positioning appears mixed but improving. The company reports $18+ million in cash (including $5 million in Bitcoin) and has eliminated $14 million in short-term liabilities. The $10 million equity raise at $7.50 per share has strengthened the balance sheet, though it's worth noting this occurred at current trading levels rather than at a premium.

Revenue generation shows positive momentum with six B2B deals generating $50 million across partners including Amazon and a Fortune 250 streaming company. The company maintains an ambitious pipeline with 72 potential B2B partnerships, indicating potential for significant revenue expansion if executed successfully.

The PodcastOne subsidiary is demonstrating strong performance with Q1 Fiscal 2026 preliminary results showing record Adjusted EBITDA of $1M+ (348% YoY increase) and revenue of $14.5M+ (19% YoY increase). The raised guidance to $55-60 million in annual revenue with $4.5-6 million in Adjusted EBITDA represents meaningful growth.

The $5 million Bitcoin treasury position and board approval for up to $500 million in crypto treasury authorization represents a substantial strategic shift toward cryptocurrency as a significant component of corporate treasury management - an unusually large allocation compared to most public companies.

Management's commitment to purchase up to $3 million in shares signals confidence, complementing the company's ongoing repurchase program with $5.5 million remaining of its buyback authorization. The reverse stock split was implemented to maintain Nasdaq listing requirements rather than from a position of strength.

Reiterates Commitment to Creating Value for All Stockholders

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO), an award-winning, creator-first, music, entertainment, and technology platform, released today the following letter to stockholders from its CEO and Chairman Robert Ellin.

The full text of the letter follows:

Dear Valued Stockholders,

I am writing to provide an important update on LiveOne’s key recent developments, performance and progress on its key strategic priorities to drive stockholder value.

I am pleased to report that LiveOne has successfully completed its $45 million restructuring initiative and delivered significant cost savings while positioning the company for future growth.

Recent Key Achievements:

• Completed $10 million common stock equity financing at $7.50 per share, further strengthening its balance sheet
• Reduced workforce to 95 employees from 300+, leveraging AI to drive efficiencies
• Eliminated $14 million in short-term liabilities
• Repurchased $6.5 million in stock, with $5.5 million remaining in its buyback program
• Acquired 347,000 additional shares of PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC)
  
  

Bitcoin Treasury Program:

• Currently $5 million is deployed in Bitcoin treasury holdings, including deploying Bitcoin yield strategy with Arca
• Board approves up to $500 million treasury authorization to expand LiveOne’s crypto asset treasury strategy
• Expands Web3 strategy, tokenizing and monetizing 10,000+ hours of video content on blockchain
• Adds world-class advisory board, including Lou Kerner, Andy Vick, Steve McClurg, and Steve Lehman.
  
  

Financial Position:

• Currently $18+ million in cash, including $5 million in Bitcoin, providing a strong foundation for future growth and investment
  
  

Business Highlights:

• Closed 6 B2B deals (including Amazon, TextNow, a top retailer and a Fortune 250 streaming company) generating $50 million in revenue, with up to 72 potential B2B deals in its pipeline
• Added Steve Lehman as Chief Advisor to Rob Ellin, leading M&A and B2B partnership initiatives
• Surpassed 1.3 million total members, including over 1 million Tesla users
• Exploring strategic options to increase stockholder value, including consolidation, sale, or merger opportunities
  
  

PodcastOne Update:

• Reported preliminary Q1 Fiscal 2026 record Adjusted EBITDA* of $1M+ (348% increase YoY) and Revenue of $14.5M+ (19% increase YoY)
• Raised guidance to $55-60 million in revenue and $4.5-6 million in Adjusted EBITDA* for Fiscal 2026, representing an increase of $5-6.5 million in Adjusted EBITDA* compared to last year
• Achieved nine consecutive months in Podtrac’s Top 10 Publishers rankings (currently #9)
  
  

TV Adaptations:

• Sold three podcasts to the largest streaming platforms, including "Varnamtown," "Vigilante," and "The Opportunist." Expects green light of a pilot for at least one show shortly, with 10 additional shows in the pipeline
  
  

Future Plans:

• Considering potential IPO or merger of Slacker into a SPAC or potential sale to further enhance stockholder value
• Intends to continue aggressive stock buyback program to enhance stockholder value
• Continues to leverage AI and other technologies to drive growth and efficiency
• Increases live events with Reality Games on December 11, with stars such as Kordell Beckham, Chloe Veitch, Chase Demoor and many others. Historically, live events like Social Gloves (Q2 Fiscal 2022) have generated upwards of $27M in revenue and $4.5M in Adjusted EBITDA*
  
  

Reverse Stock Split:

• Recently completed a reverse stock split — a proactive, stockholder-approved move to maintain LiveOne’s Nasdaq listing and strengthen its market position which supports LiveOne’s M&A and partnership efforts, and boosts visibility with institutional investors
  
  

Valuation Opportunity:

We believe our company's stock is significantly undervalued, trading at a substantial discount to our industry peers. The industry average multiple is 3.3x revenues, whereas LiveOne is trading at only approximately 60% of revenues, representing a steep discount. In light of this fact, I, Robert Ellin and other LiveOne senior management and board members have committed to purchasing up to $3 million worth of LiveOne shares of common stock, demonstrating our confidence in LiveOne's future prospects and our belief that LiveOne is materially and considerably undervalued.

Thank you for your continued support in our vision and strategy.

Sincerely,
Robert Ellin
Chairman and CEO, LiveOne

About LiveOne

Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO) is an award-winning, creator-first, music, entertainment, and technology platform focused on delivering premium experiences and content worldwide through memberships and live and virtual events. LiveOne's subsidiaries include Slacker, PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC), PPVOne, Custom Personalization Solutions, LiveXLive, DayOne Music Publishing, Drumify and Splitmind. LiveOne, a dedicated over-the-top application powered by Slacker, is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Spotify, Samsung, Amazon Fire, Android TV, and through STIRR's OTT applications. For more information, visit liveone.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X at @liveone. For more investor information, please visit ir.liveone.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements,” which may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words as “may,” “might,” “will,” “will likely result,” “would,” “should,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “could,” “believe,” “seek,” “continue,” “contemplate,” “predict,” “potential,” “target” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including: LiveOne’s reliance on its largest OEM customer for a substantial percentage of its revenue; LiveOne’s ability to consummate any proposed financing (including the public offering announced in this press release), acquisition, spin-out, special dividend, merger, distribution or transaction, the timing of the consummation of any such proposed event, including the risks that a condition to the consummation of any such event (including the public offering announced in this press release) would not be satisfied within the expected timeframe or at all, or that the consummation of any proposed financing, acquisition, spin-out, merger, special dividend, distribution or transaction will not occur or whether any such event will enhance stockholder value; LiveOne’s ability to continue as a going concern; LiveOne’s ability to attract, maintain and increase the number of its users and paid members; LiveOne identifying, acquiring, securing and developing content; LiveOne’s ability to implement its recently announced crypto treasury strategy and/or purchase crypto assets from time to time pursuant to such strategy, including for the maximum announced amount; LiveOne’s intent to repurchase shares of its and/or PodcastOne’s common stock from time to time under LiveOne’s announced stock repurchase program and the timing, price, and quantity of repurchases, if any, under the program; LiveOne’s ability to maintain compliance with certain financial and other debt covenants; LiveOne successfully implementing its growth strategy, including relating to its technology platforms and applications; management’s relationships with industry stakeholders; LiveOne’s ability to repay its indebtedness when due; LiveOne’s ability to satisfy the conditions for closing on its announced additional convertible debentures financing; uncertain and unfavorable outcomes in legal proceedings and/or LiveOne’s ability to pay any amounts due in connection with any such legal proceedings; significant legal, commercial, regulatory and technical uncertainty and risks related to Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital assets; regulatory developments related to crypto assets and crypto asset markets; changes in economic conditions; competition; risks and uncertainties applicable to the businesses of LiveOne’s subsidiaries; and other risks, uncertainties and factors including, but not limited to, those described in LiveOne’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on July 15, 2025, and in LiveOne’s other filings and submissions with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and LiveOne disclaims any obligation to update these statements, except as may be required by law. LiveOne intends that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

*About PodcastOne’s Non-GAAP Financial Measures*

To supplement PodcastOne’s consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), PodcastOne presents Contribution Margin (Loss) and Adjusted Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”), which are non-GAAP financial measures, as measures of its performance. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, or superior to, operating loss and or net income (loss) or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP or as an alternative to net cash provided by operating activities or any other measures of PodcastOne’s cash flows or liquidity.

PodcastOne uses Contribution Margin (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate the performance of its operating segment. PodcastOne believes that information about these non-GAAP financial measures assists investors by allowing them to evaluate changes in the operating results of its business separate from non-operational factors that affect operating income (loss) and net income (loss), thus providing insights into both operations and the other factors that affect reported results. Adjusted EBITDA is not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP. A limitation of the use of Adjusted EBITDA as a performance measure is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain amortizing assets used in generating revenue in PodcastOne’s business. Accordingly, Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for operating income (loss), net income (loss), and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. Furthermore, this measure may vary among other companies; thus, Adjusted EBITDA as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Contribution Margin (Loss) is defined as Revenue less Cost of Sales before (a) Cost of Sales share-based compensation expense, (b) depreciation, and (c) amortization of developed technology. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, other (income) expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization and before (a) non-cash GAAP purchase accounting adjustments for certain deferred revenue and costs, (b) legal, accounting and other professional fees directly attributable to acquisition activity, (c) employee severance payments and third party professional fees directly attributable to acquisition or corporate realignment activities, (d) certain non-recurring expenses associated with legal settlements or reserves for legal settlements in the period that pertain to historical matters that existed at acquired companies prior to their purchase date and a one-time minimum guarantee to effectively terminate a live events distribution agreement post COVID-19, and (e) certain stock-based compensation expense. Management does not consider these costs to be indicative of our core operating results.

With respect to projected full fiscal year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA, a quantitative reconciliation is not available without unreasonable efforts due to the high variability, complexity and low visibility with respect to purchase accounting adjustments, acquisition-related charges and legal settlement reserves excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. PodcastOne expects that the variability of these items to have a potentially unpredictable, and potentially significant, impact on its future GAAP financial results.

LiveOne Press Contact:

press@liveone.com

Follow LiveOne on social media: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X at @liveone.

FAQ

What major restructuring did LiveOne (LVO) complete in 2025?

LiveOne completed a $45 million restructuring initiative, which included reducing workforce to 95 employees, eliminating $14M in short-term liabilities, and securing $10M in equity financing at $7.50 per share.

What is LiveOne's (LVO) current financial position in 2025?

LiveOne has $18+ million in cash, including $5M in Bitcoin, and has closed 6 B2B deals worth $50M in revenue. The company also has $5.5M remaining in its stock buyback program.

How is PodcastOne performing under LiveOne (LVO)?

PodcastOne reported Q1 Fiscal 2026 revenue of $14.5M+ (19% YoY increase) and raised guidance to $55-60M for Fiscal 2026. It ranks #9 in Podtrac's Top 10 Publishers and has sold three podcasts to major streaming platforms.

What strategic options is LiveOne (LVO) considering for future growth?

LiveOne is exploring several options including a potential IPO or merger of Slacker into a SPAC, potential sale opportunities, and continuing its aggressive stock buyback program. The company is also expanding its Web3 strategy and Bitcoin treasury program.

Why did LiveOne (LVO) implement a reverse stock split in 2025?

LiveOne implemented a reverse stock split as a proactive, stockholder-approved move to maintain its Nasdaq listing and strengthen its market position to support M&A and partnership efforts, while boosting visibility with institutional investors.