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Warner Music Group Corp.

WMG · Communications · FY2025 filings · · Shallow moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

Shallow moat
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The five investor questions

—

Fewer than two aligned fiscal years of revenue and diluted EPS are available; the filing history does not contain a measurable trend.

80

Median gross margin 47.4% over 10y, very stable.

57

Median ROIC 13.4%, above the 12% hurdle in 60% of years.

14

Net debt/EBITDA 3.3x, interest coverage 4x.

69

Owner earnings changed +9.1%/yr over up to the ten most recent annual observations.

The businessTrend component abstained: Fewer than two aligned fiscal years of revenue and diluted EPS are available; the filing history does not contain a measurable trend. The other four 20% weights were renormalized over the scored 80%.

Price vs. value if growth stopped today

A cautious baseline, not a price target: what the shares may support if normalized owner earnings simply hold steady.

Above value if growth stopped todayBelow value if growth stopped today
No price data
$635M
Unavailable — insufficient owner-earnings data
Unavailable — insufficient growth-model data
$28.87
No price data

This zero-growth estimate assumes trailing owner earnings persist — unreliable for declining businesses. The recent FY revenue series does not trigger the three-consecutive-declines flag.

Among the current top-score group, the median current price is 238% above the zero-growth estimate across 49 of the current top 50 companies by Moat Score with both values.

Score records captured Sep 4, 2026.

Exactly which 50 companies?

FTNT, META, MEDP, IBEX, MSFT, GOOG, LULU, ANF, IDXX, TXRH, FHI, QLYS, FFIV, ADBE, LLY, MANH, VEEV, RMD, GRMN, PCTY, EAT, UI, SSD, MNST, DOCS, LRCX, MCO, CPRT, NTAP, NVDA, CORT, SFM, MPTI, ULTA, SN, ROL, CTAS, PAYC, IRMD, INTU, DECK, MORN, JKHY, TPR, LGCY, DAL, GWW, ISRG, MPWR, LOPE

Missing a usable price or zero-growth estimate: ANF.

Model details under moat-index@3.0.0: zero-growth multiple 11.1×, capped-growth comparison at no more than 18×; 9% discount rate; high-end growth 0% (capped at 4%) using min(5y revenue CAGR, 5y diluted-EPS CAGR), clamped to 0%–4%; maintenance capex uses min(capex, D&A); abstain when D&A is unavailable. This is a disclosed model range, not intrinsic value as fact.

17 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Warner Music Group Corp. booked $6.7B of revenue in FY2025 in the Communications sector and kept 45.8% of it as gross profit — a solid-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, 5.4% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $3.0B (FY2010) to $6.7B (FY2025) — about 5.5% a year compounded over 15 years.

It earned 12.5% on invested capital in the latest filed year, FY2025. Across the full 14-year measurable filed record, median ROIC was 7.5%. Over the v3 recent window (10 measurable filed years), median ROIC was 13.4%. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 57/100.

The balance sheet carried $4.1B of total debt in FY2025 against $602M of owner earnings — roughly 6.7 years of owner earnings to retire it all. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 14/100.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2009–FY2025 · 17 fiscal years, normalized from WMG’s SEC filings

Sales, as filed$6.7B FY2025
$0$2.5B$5B2009201520212025
Revenue kept after cost of goods45.8% FY2025
0%20%40%2009201520212025
Standard ROIC or separately labeled Operating ROICStandard ROIC 13.1% FY2025

Exact FY and FY-1 financing invested-capital inputs are required.

0%2009201520212025
Cash an owner could take out$602M FY2025
$0$500M2009201520212025

The explained ROIC gaps have filed inputs but no meaningful positive invested-capital denominator. Other gaps mean the item is not in the filings for that year. The series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Flagship explainer

How Warner Music Group Corp. makes its money

Start with a dollar of revenue and follow what the filing says remains.

revenueBranching filed flows with values and percentages directly labeled. Missing filing concepts are omitted rather than estimated.Revenue$6.7B · 100%Cost of revenue$3.6B · 54%Gross profit$3.1B · 46%Operating income$694M · 10%Income before tax$490M · 7%Income tax$120M · 2%Net income$365M · 5%As of 2025-09-30 · 1 SEC filing sourceBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com

Honest partial: the filing did not provide a normalized tag for Research and development, Selling, general and administrative; those components are omitted, not plugged.

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of revenueSource
$6.7B100%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Cost of revenue$3.6B54%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
$3.1B46%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
$694M10%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Income before tax$490M7%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Income tax$120M2%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
$365M5%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Source:
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
· event Sep 30, 2025 · retrieved Sep 4, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

What Warner Music Group Corp. owns — and owes

Warner Music Group Corp.'s filing tags don't support a full breakdown — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of assetsSource
Total assets$9.8B100%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Cash and equivalents$532M5%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
$4.1B41%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Stockholders’ equity$647M7%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Source:
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
· event Sep 30, 2025 · retrieved Sep 4, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What drives Warner Music Group Corp.’s return on equity?

ROE is five filed business factors multiplied together.

DuPont return on equity factor treeReturn on equity branches into tax burden, interest burden, operating margin, asset turnover, and the equity multiplier.Return on equity63%Tax burden74%net income ÷ pretax incomeInterest burden71%pretax ÷ operating incomeOperating margin10%operating income ÷ revenueAsset turnover0.71×revenue ÷ average assetsEquity multiplier16.30×average assets ÷ average equityAs of 2025-09-30 · 1 SEC filing sourceBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com
DuPont source inputs
InputValueFiscal yearSource
$365MFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Income before tax$490MFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Operating income$694MFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
$6.7BFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Ending assets$9.8BFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Beginning assets$9.2BFY2024
  • 10-K · FY 2024Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
$647MFY2025
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
$518MFY2024
  • 10-K · FY 2024Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Source: · event Sep 30, 2025 · retrieved Sep 4, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

Where Warner Music Group Corp.'s cash went

Warner Music Group Corp.’s filing does not supply enough provenance-matched cash-flow lines for a truthful flow chart — here’s what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of cash from operationsSource
Cash from operations$678M100%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Depreciation and amortization$376M55%
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
Source:
  • 10-K · FY 2025Filing detailsAccession 0001319161-25-000034 · filed Nov 20, 2025
· event Sep 30, 2025 · retrieved Sep 4, 2026 · annual-row source set

Curated 19-manager tier

Who reported holding Warner Music Group Corp.

Delayed public 13F reports for 2026-Q2—not live positions, trades, or recommendations.

1 holding0 exited17 not holding18/19 resolved1 not retrieved

Named manager positions and quarter-over-quarter changes
ManagerReported positionQuarter-over-quarterFiling accession
Oakmark / Harris Associates1,611,030 shares$43.6M · 0% of eligible reported 13FAdded to position · +105 shares (0%)
Abrams CapitalNo position reportedNo position reported
Akre CapitalNo position reportedNo position reported
Baupost GroupNo position reportedNo position reported
Berkshire HathawayNo position reportedNo position reported
Brave Warrior AdvisorsNo position reportedNo position reported
Dodge & CoxNo position reportedNo position reported
First EagleNo position reportedNo position reported
FundsmithNo position reportedNo position reported
Gardner Russo & QuinnNo position reportedNo position reported
Gates Foundation TrustNo position reportedNo position reported
Mairs & PowerNo position reportedNo position reported
Markel / Markel-GaynerNo position reportedNo position reported
Polen CapitalNo position reportedNo position reported
Sequoia / Ruane CunniffNo position reportedNo position reported
Southeastern Asset ManagementNo position reportedNo position reported
Tweedy, BrowneNo position reportedNo position reported
Yacktman Asset ManagementNo position reportedNo position reported
Pershing SquareNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved

Position size uses shares and filed value from each manager’s 13F. Portfolio weight uses the eligible long-share filing denominator. Changes compare only with the immediately preceding calendar quarter.

Source:
37 SEC filings
  1. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000813917-26-000038 · filed May 15, 2026
  2. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000813917-26-000042 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  3. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000860643-26-000003 · filed May 13, 2026
  4. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000860643-26-000005 · filed Aug 13, 2026
  5. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000905567-26-000002 · filed May 1, 2026
  6. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000905567-26-000003 · filed Aug 11, 2026
  7. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000919574-26-003132 · filed May 15, 2026
  8. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0000919574-26-005176 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  9. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001061768-26-000007 · filed May 14, 2026
  10. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001061768-26-000010 · filed Aug 13, 2026
  11. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001096343-26-000044 · filed May 1, 2026
  12. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001096343-26-000065 · filed Jul 31, 2026
  13. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-062592 · filed May 15, 2026
  14. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001104659-26-097175 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  15. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001112520-26-000009 · filed May 14, 2026
  16. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001112520-26-000014 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  17. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-001819 · filed May 14, 2026
  18. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-001911 · filed May 14, 2026
  19. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-001966 · filed May 14, 2026
  20. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-002294 · filed May 15, 2026
  21. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-003035 · filed Aug 4, 2026
  22. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-003402 · filed Aug 13, 2026
  23. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-003496 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  24. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001172661-26-003728 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  25. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-208439 · filed May 6, 2026
  26. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-223352 · filed May 14, 2026
  27. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-226661 · filed May 15, 2026
  28. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-340443 · filed Aug 7, 2026
  29. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-349535 · filed Aug 13, 2026
  30. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001193125-26-352200 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  31. 13F-HR/A · Q1 2026 · Amendment RESTATEMENTFiling detailsAccession 0001325447-26-000018 · filed May 14, 2026
  32. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001325447-26-000020 · filed Aug 5, 2026
  33. 13F-HR/A · Q2 2026 · Amendment NEW HOLDINGSFiling detailsAccession 0001325447-26-000033 · filed Aug 24, 2026
  34. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001398344-26-009296 · filed May 15, 2026
  35. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001398344-26-014641 · filed Aug 14, 2026
  36. 13F-HR · Q1 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001569205-26-000005 · filed May 15, 2026
  37. 13F-HR · Q2 2026Filing detailsAccession 0001569205-26-000012 · filed Aug 14, 2026
· event Jun 30, 2026 · retrieved Sep 4, 2026

Flagship explainer

What Warner Music Group Corp. insiders reported

We could not retrieve insider activity for this rendering; no zero-activity claim is shown.

Unavailable: Form 4 activity could not be retrieved for this rendering.

Moat Score history

17 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale55.2 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026Sep 4, 2026

Breaks in the line mark methodology or normalizer upgrades — readings across versions aren’t compared, so a level shift there isn’t a change in the business.

Tier changesSame-methodology and same-normalizer crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

  1. Normalizer upgraded unstamped (version unknown)moat-xbrl-normalizer@1.1.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 26, 2026
  2. Methodology upgraded moat-index@2.0.0moat-index@3.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 23, 2026
  3. Methodology upgraded moat-index@1.2.0moat-index@2.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 20, 2026

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record cannot be reconstructed retroactively, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Insider activity

Form 4 reports mix P/S market or private transactions with compensation-plan mechanics. Activity casually described as “insider selling” can include compensation mechanics; awards, tax withholding, and option exercises are shown by their exact filed class here, never collapsed into “Bought” or “Sold.”

These are disclosed filing facts and arithmetic aggregates, not a signal or verdict.

The insider-filing service is temporarily unavailable, so no partial or guessed answer is shown for WMG.

Track record

How Warner Music Group Corp.’s moat rated in each of the years we can reconstruct from its filings — scored only on what was knowable at the time — and what its price and returns did afterward. The score never saw a price; the two are joined only in hindsight, for education, not as a signal.

Point-in-time scores 2011–2025, one methodology version · reconstructed from filings on file each Dec 31 — never with hindsight

Point-in-time Moat Score (dot colored by tier)Indexed price (total-return (dividends reinvested))Rated Wide-moat that year

How to read this: each dot is what the engine would have scored WMG on that December 31; the line below is its total-return price path (dividends reinvested) in the years since.

0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatPoint-in-time Moat Score90120Indexed price · log scale (2021 = 100)201120142017202020232026

Two tracks, one timeline: the score has its own 0–100 scale (top), the price its own 100-based scale (bottom) — never a shared axis. The price path is a total-return (dividends reinvested) index built from the same data the forward returns use; gaps in the score line are years with no reconstructed rating (see the table for why). The Table view carries every value.

What followed, in the years it rated Wide

In the reconstructed history shown, WMG did not rate Wide-moat in any year, so there is no wide-moat track record to report. That absence is itself the honest answer — we don’t manufacture a comparison where the rating never earned one.

Communications context

#23 of 134 scored Communications companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #21CTGG QWEST CORP56.5Shallow moat
  2. #22SPOK SPOK HOLDINGS, INC.55.8Shallow moat
  3. #24CPLX Certiplex Corporation54.4Shallow moat
  4. #25LYV LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT, INC.54.2Shallow moat

Compare WMG with its nearest peers →All Communications companies on the Index →

Common questions about WMG

Does Warner Music Group Corp. have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) 55.2 out of 100 — a Shallow moat. The five questions behind that score begin at 20% each; if exactly one genuinely lacks data, the other four weights are renormalized and disclosed. revenue and EPS trend not measurable from the filings, pricing power 80, returns on capital 57, balance-sheet safety 14, capital allocation 69.
How has WMG's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 17 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 55.2 out of 100 (shallow moat). No tier changes on record yet. (Methodology or normalizer upgrades on Jul 20, 2026, Jul 23, 2026, Jul 26, 2026 re-based the score; readings across versions aren't compared.) The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell WMG. See the disclaimer.