LiveOne (LVO) Q4 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

What is the status of the AT&T deal, specifically regarding sales to automobile OEMs, signed agreements, and expected revenue timing?

The AT&T partnership is a massive opportunity, leveraging AT&T's mobility platform to integrate LiveOne into cars, reaching 67-70 million programmed vehicles. It offers multiple revenue streams from current and new users. AT&T is using music to sign up subscribers for their platform, similar to Tesla. Revenue typically takes 90-180 days to kick in, with some major deals taking 11-14 months to see significant impact.

“This is now the opportunity every time you go in your car, all of a sudden, your LiveOne app will show up in the car, and you'll have an opportunity across AT&T Mobility to be able to sign up, be able to utilize and be able to drive.”

asked by Barry Sine · answered by Robert Ellin

How will LiveOne monetize its PodcastOne and LiveOne content catalog through AI, including negotiations, signed deals, and revenue timing?

Monetization of content for AI models is imminent, with multiple aggressive parties interested. The company's unique position with secondary content (where podcasters own their content) provides an advantage amidst lawsuits between major media companies and AI firms. Revenue is expected to come in imminently, with content valued at $100-$500 per hour for practice models.

“I would say it's imminent, right? With that, I would say that there are multiple parties coming very aggressively looking at this and looking at the space.”

asked by Barry Sine · answered by Robert Ellin

What is the progress on converting free Tesla users to paying customers and monetizing free users through programmatic advertising, and how is revenue recovery progressing?

LiveOne has 1.3 million Tesla users, with an average usage of 69 minutes per day. The company is seeing positive overall numbers and rising ARPUs in the last two months, with a conversion rate of approximately 1% to 2% over the last couple of months. The balance sheet has strengthened due to these conversions and debt payoffs.

“I can tell you that I think we said it's about 1% or 2%. We're starting to convert over the last couple of months. And we've had positive -- we've had overall positive numbers. Our ARPUs are going up, and we have had overall positive numbers in the last 2 months.”

asked by Barry Sine · answered by Robert Ellin

When will the 10-K be published, and what is the current share count, considering recent balance sheet changes and convertible items?

The 10-K is aimed for release by the end of the week, with a deadline of Monday. Most convertible items, totaling 15 million, have been converted, resulting in an estimated 1 million additional shares from last quarter. These shares are held by strategic partners like BMI and Merlin, who also bring 20 million new songs to the portfolio.

“I think we said today that 15 million total was almost completed, right? So you'll see another, I don't know, probably from last quarter, probably 1 million shares total in that range.”

asked by Sean McGowan · answered by Robert Ellin

Should Q4 operating expenses be considered a baseline, or were there non-recurring expenses in the quarter?

Q4 operating expenses are a good baseline, as the company has done a fantastic job cutting costs throughout the year, with many being permanent. G&A is stabilizing, and there were no significant one-time puts or takes in the quarter. Most non-employee stock-based compensation, particularly for podcast talent, is recorded in the cost of sales.

“Barry (sic) [ Sean ], I think the quarter is probably a good baseline to trend off of because you can see that throughout the year, the company did fantastic at trying to cut costs with the contraction.”

asked by Sean McGowan · answered by Craig Christensen

How long does it typically take for new B2B partnerships, like VIZIO, to generate meaningful paid subscriber additions?

New B2B deals typically take 90 to 180 days to start seeing revenue kick in. For example, Amazon took 11 months for significant revenues, and Paramount (Pluto TV) took 14 months to grow from a $2 million deal to over $26 million. The company does not spend on marketing for these deals, relying on partners to leverage their massive audiences.

“These typically are going to take 90 to 180 days before you start to really start to see revenue start to kick in.”

asked by Brian Kinstlinger · answered by Robert Ellin

How is the AT&T integration with OEMs different and more advantageous than previous Slacker Radio pre-installations in cars?

The AT&T partnership is different because they are actively trying to capture the home screen inside cars, which now has significant value. LiveOne will be prominently featured, similar to how it appears as one of five buttons in a Tesla. AT&T is using music as a sticky content to sign up users for their platform, marketing LiveOne as a key partner without direct cost to LiveOne.

“No, I would say it differently with AT&T, they're doing what Tesla did, right? So remember with Tesla, right? This was an amazing run, right? But it took 12 years to get there.”

asked by Brian Kinstlinger · answered by Robert Ellin