Sphere Entertainment
SPHR on NYSE. Amusement & recreation services. Market value $1.1bn.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Some use the latest annual report instead, as marked. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
Cash flow or capital spending isn't reported, so free cash flow is unknown.
Recent profit includes a big one-time charge, so we price the company excluding that charge.
Should I look at this?
Not a fit for our list right now
Why it could be worth it
See Retail & consumer stocks that passed both tests
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
We could not compute this from the filings.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
Each dollar kept in the business earns -6 cents a year. Above 10 is good.
Quality score: 30 of 100. Price score: 20 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$105.38 a share, 85% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $57.01 to $181.63.
Pays no dividend
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $648m | $610m | $574m | $1.0bn | $1.2bn |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | -29.1% | -27.2% | -47.6% | -33.2% | -18.8% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | 0.79 | 0.51 | 0.47 | 0.57 | 0.37 |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.03bn | 0.03bn | 0.03bn | 0.04bn | 0.05bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive0 of 2 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Not enough data
- Financial strength (Piotroski)7 of 7 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)Yes
- Debt0.37× equity
- Revenue growth, five yearsShrinking, 2.9% a year
- Buying back its own sharesNo, 32% more shares since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $314 million last quarter, up 11% on a year ago.
- A loss of $38 million, after a profit of $152 million a year ago.
- 19% fewer shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit more of the company.
- Debt is $229 million more than cash, down from $534 million a year ago.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| June 2024 | $273m |
| September 2024 | $228m |
| March 2025 | $281m |
| June 2025 | $283m |
| September 2025 | $263m |
| December 2025 | $394m |
| March 2026 | $386m |
| June 2026 | $314m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| June 2024 | -$47m |
| September 2024 | -$105m |
| March 2025 | -$82m |
| June 2025 | $152m |
| September 2025 | -$101m |
| December 2025 | $65m |
| March 2026 | $4m |
| June 2026 | -$38m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 12 February 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 29 October 2026
Who owns it
6 long-term investors we follow own it, unchanged from 6 last quarter. 417 funds in all.
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ariel InvestmentsJohn Rogers Jr. | $288m | 2.9% | Cut |
| GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli | $133m | 1.2% | Cut |
| Horizon KineticsMurray Stahl | $8m | <0.1% | Cut |
| Polen CapitalDan Davidowitz | $7m | <0.1% | Cut |
| Boyar Asset ManagementMark Boyar | $5m | 2.9% | Cut |
| Gotham Asset ManagementJoel Greenblatt | $2m | <0.1% | Cut |
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$706mAdded
- Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P.$451m
- Morgan Stanley$428mAdded
- Ariel Investments$288mCut
- Vanguard Portfolio Management$262m
- Sands Capital Management$235mNew
- Vanguard Capital Management$205m
- State Street$187mAdded
- FMR$168mAdded
- Ameriprise Financial$156mAdded
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
9 investors own more than 5%.
- BlackRock, Inc.Passive investor13.5%Since 31 March 2026
- Mary S. Dolan, as Trustee of certain trusts described hereinInsider or founderat least 13.0%0.0 pts(filed with 23 related holders)Since 25 February 2026
- Mary S. Dolan, as a Trustee of the Charles F. Dolan Children Trust FBO Deborah Dolan-Sweeney and each of the 2009 Family TrustsInsider or founderat least 12.3%(filed with 20 related holders)Since 28 December 2024
What they said
The disclosure in Item 4 is hereby amended by adding the following at the end thereof: Charles F. Dolan passed away on December 28, 2024. As a result, as described in Exhibit A to Amendment No. 3, each child of Charles F. Dolan has the power to appoint additional or successor…
Read the filing - Morgan StanleyPassive investorat least 8.3%+1.3 pts(filed with 1 related holder)Since 30 June 2026
- Ariel InvestmentsPassive investor5.8%−2.8 ptsSince 30 June 2026
- Barclays PLCPassive investor5.8%Since 31 March 2025
- Vanguard Portfolio ManagementPassive investor5.4%Since 31 March 2026
- Dimensional Fund Advisors LPPassive investor5.0%Since 31 March 2025
- Kenneth GriffinPassive investorat least 3.9%(filed with 6 related holders)Since 31 March 2025
- BANK OF NOVA SCOTIAPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 31 December 2025
- GAMCO Asset Management Inc.Passive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 August 2026
What they said
The Reporting Persons file the long form Schedule 13D pursuant to Section 13d-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act") even though they may be technically eligible to file the short form Schedule G. Because the Reporting Persons may regularly communicate with the…
Read the filing - Point72 Asset Management, L.P.Passive investorSold down below 5%Since 30 September 2025
- The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
- Charles F. Dolan 2009 Revocable TrustInsider or founderSold down below 5%Since 8 September 2025
What they said
The disclosure in Item 4 is hereby amended by adding the following at the end thereof: The information contained in Item 3 of this Amendment No. 6 is incorporated by reference.
Read the filing
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | 13.5% | 31 March 2026 | |
Mary S. Dolan, as Trustee of certain trusts described herein Insider or founder | at least 13.0%0.0 pts (filed with 23 related holders) | 25 February 2026 | |
Mary S. Dolan, as a Trustee of the Charles F. Dolan Children Trust FBO Deborah Dolan-Sweeney and each of the 2009 Family Trusts Insider or founder | at least 12.3% (filed with 20 related holders) | 28 December 2024 | What they saidThe disclosure in Item 4 is hereby amended by adding the following at the end thereof: Charles F. Dolan passed away on December 28, 2024. As a result, as described in Exhibit A to Amendment No. 3, each child of Charles F. Dolan has the power to appoint additional or successor… Read the filing |
Morgan Stanley Passive investor | at least 8.3%+1.3 pts (filed with 1 related holder) | 30 June 2026 | |
Ariel Investments Passive investor | 5.8%−2.8 pts | 30 June 2026 | |
Barclays PLC Passive investor | 5.8% | 31 March 2025 | |
Vanguard Portfolio Management Passive investor | 5.4% | 31 March 2026 | |
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Passive investor | 5.0% | 31 March 2025 | |
Kenneth Griffin Passive investor | at least 3.9% (filed with 6 related holders) | 31 March 2025 | |
BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 31 December 2025 | |
GAMCO Asset Management Inc. Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 August 2026 | What they saidThe Reporting Persons file the long form Schedule 13D pursuant to Section 13d-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act") even though they may be technically eligible to file the short form Schedule G. Because the Reporting Persons may regularly communicate with the… Read the filing |
Point72 Asset Management, L.P. Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 30 September 2025 | |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 | |
Charles F. Dolan 2009 Revocable Trust Insider or founder | Sold down below 5% | 8 September 2025 | What they saidThe disclosure in Item 4 is hereby amended by adding the following at the end thereof: The information contained in Item 3 of this Amendment No. 6 is incorporated by reference. Read the filing |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
No insider bought or sold on the open market in the last 12 months.
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
What could go wrong
- Sales have shrunk: 2.9% a year.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.