In the first half of 2026, the Universal Music Group (UMG) continued positive forward momentum with healthy overall revenue growth and managed to maintain internal profitability levels for the period. But overall net profitability was impacted by costs related to consolidating the Downtown acquisition, higher than usual legal fees and financial expenses, and going up against 2025’s first-half profitability, which was boosted by a high-margin settlement.
For the six-month period ended June 30, UMG revenue grew to 6.194 billion euros ($7.195 billion), up 5.3% (10.8% on a constant currency basis) from the prior year’s first half, when the company generated 5.881 billion euros ($6.694 billion). While UMG benefited from the addition of its acquisition of Downtown in the first half of the year to the tune of 234 million euros ($272 million), its revenue was nevertheless up by 1.34% in the second half of 2026 versus the first half of 2025, and 5.7% on a constant currency basis.
Related
Net profits declined to $223 million euros in the first half of 2026 versus 1.425 billion euros in the corresponding year-earlier period, resulting in a 12-cent euro ($0.14) per diluted share in the first half of 2026 versus a 78-cent euro ($0.88) per diluted share in the corresponding 2025 period.
