LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO) Raises 2026 Cost Savings Target from $5M to $7.5M ($3.5M Completed); Increases Payables Conversion Target from $11M to $13M+ at $7.50 per share ($5M Completed)
Rhea-AI Summary
LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO) on March 18, 2026 raised its 2026 cost savings target to more than $7.5 million and expanded its payables conversion initiative to more than $13 million at $7.50 per share. The company reported deploying AI to cut costs and reduce workforce from 350 to 78.
Additional items include ~$1.5M expected CPS savings by year-end, two new Fortune 500 B2B partnerships covering 100M+ monthly subscribers, acquisition of 900k+ PodcastOne shares, and ~$5.7M remaining under the share repurchase plan.
Positive
- Cost savings target increased to >$7.5M for 2026
- Payables conversion expanded to >$13M at $7.50 per share
- Workforce reduced from 350 to 78
- Expect ~$1.5M additional CPS savings by year-end
- Launched two Fortune 500 B2B partnerships reaching 100M+ monthly subscribers
- Acquired 900k+ PodcastOne (PODC) shares
Negative
- Significant headcount reduction to 78 employees may strain operations
- Only ~$5.7M remains available under the share repurchase plan
News Market Reaction – LVO
In the Mar 18 session, LVO gained 4.11%, reflecting a moderate positive market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +6.6% during that session. Our momentum scanner triggered 2 alerts that day, indicating moderate trading interest and price volatility.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 10 | Royalty-to-equity deal | Positive | -1.2% | Merlin extension converting up to $3.75M royalties into equity at $7.50 per share. |
| Feb 25 | AI cost reductions | Positive | +0.0% | AI-driven savings over $5M and liability reduction via debt repayment and equity conversion. |
| Feb 23 | Distribution expansion | Positive | +3.6% | LiveOne app launch on VIZIO smart TVs expanding reach to 1.3B+ monthly active users. |
| Feb 12 | Earnings results | Neutral | -3.1% | Reported $58.2M YTD revenue with Audio division EBITDA and major operating expense cuts. |
| Feb 11 | Earnings date notice | Neutral | +5.7% | Announcement of Q3 results release and webcast with three new Fortune 500 partnerships. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Recent news skewed toward balance-sheet actions and AI-driven cost cuts. Positive operational or partnership news has not always led to sustained gains, with several constructive updates met by flat or negative next-day reactions.
Over the past months, LiveOne highlighted multiple balance-sheet and operational milestones. On Feb 12, 2026, it reported Fiscal 2026 Q3 revenue of $20.3M and significant expense cuts, yet the stock fell 3.13%. Earlier, the company expanded distribution via VIZIO smart TVs, reaching over 1.3B monthly active users, which saw a 3.63% gain. Subsequent updates on AI-driven cost reductions and a Merlin royalty-to-equity deal further emphasized deleveraging. Today’s higher 2026 cost savings and payables conversion targets extend this same de-risking and efficiency narrative.
Key Terms
adjusted EBITDA financial
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Deploys AI (Anthropic Claude, OpenAI) to Slash Costs, Reduce Workforce from 350 to 78 (~
- Additional ~
$1.5M CPS savings expected by year-end - Launching two new Fortune 500 B2B partnerships reaching 100M+ monthly subscribers
- ~
$5.7M remaining under share repurchase plan - Acquired 900k+ shares of PodcastOne (Nasdaq: PODC)
LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LiveOne, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVO), a creator-first, music, entertainment and technology platform, today announced that it has increased its projected 2026 cost savings target to more than
“We continue to exceed our cost reduction targets while strengthening our balance sheet and positioning the Company for scalable, profitable growth,” said Robert Ellin, Chairman and CEO of LiveOne. “Our investments in AI-driven efficiencies, combined with expanding strategic partnerships, are driving meaningful operating leverage across the business.”
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, 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 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 digital asset treasury strategy and/or purchase digital assets from time to time pursuant to such strategy, including for the maximum announced amount, and other risks related to such strategy; 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 digital assets and digital 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, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, filed with the SEC on November 14, 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.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures*
To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), we present Contribution Margin (Loss) and Adjusted Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”), which are non-GAAP financial measures, as measures of our 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 our cash flows or liquidity.
We use Contribution Margin (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate the performance of our operating segment. We believe that information about these non-GAAP financial measures assists investors by allowing them to evaluate changes in the operating results of our 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 our 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. We expect that the variability of these items to have a potentially unpredictable, and potentially significant, impact on our future GAAP financial results.
For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables entitled “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measure to GAAP Measure” included at the end of this release.
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