Lionsgate Studios

LION · NYSE

$12.15+$1.53 (+14.41%)TodayMarket closed · Oct 20, 7:59 PM ET

Prev close $10.62

LION analyst rating

BuyConsensus of 9 analysts over the last 12 months. 67% rate it a buy.

Strong buy0
Buy6
Hold2
Underperform1
Sell0

12-month price target · 15 analysts

Average $16.14 (+32.9% upside)

Low: $9.09
Now: $12.15
High: $21.00

Upgrades and downgrades

The latest rating actions, newest first

LION analyst upgrades, downgrades and rating actions
Firm	Date	Action	Rating	Price target	Hit rate
JP Morgan	Sep 25, 2026	Initiates	Underweight	$9.00	0%
Citizens	Sep 14, 2026	Initiates	Market Outperform	$18.00	48%
B. Riley Securities	Aug 10, 2026	Maintains	Neutral	$17.00 → $16.00	59%
B. Riley Securities	Jul 1, 2026	Initiates	Neutral	$17.00	59%
Baird	Jun 17, 2026	Maintains	Outperform	$18.00 → $20.00	44%
Benchmark	Jun 11, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$15.00 → $17.00	52%
Barrington Research	May 26, 2026	Maintains	Outperform	$14.50 → $17.00	58%
Barrington Research	May 22, 2026	Maintains	Outperform	$14.50	58%
Baird	May 5, 2026	Maintains	Outperform	$14.00 → $16.00	44%
Morgan Stanley	May 1, 2026	Maintains	Overweight	$11.00 → $14.00	50%

The case for and against

Updated Oct 18, 2026

Bull case

Lionsgate Studios is supported by a sharp FY1Q beat, with revenue of $777M (+48% Y/Y) and AOBIDA of $79M, while Motion Picture revenue surged 120% Y/Y to $587M and delivered its best segment profit historically at $105M. Its outlook is further strengthened by a deepening franchise pipeline, including Michael’s $1B+ global box office, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One, and a material Netflix licensing deal, alongside a backlog that rose 20%+ Y/Y to $1.5B. In addition, leverage is improving faster than expected, with net debt-to-TTM AOBIDA down to 4.3x from 6.1x last quarter, and FY27 estimates point to $3.313B in revenue, $364M in AOBIDA, and $147M in FCF.

Bear case

Lionsgate Studios is weighed down by a hit-driven, capital-intensive model in an intensely competitive market, where unpredictable audience demand and rapid change can quickly disrupt results. Its financial performance has been inconsistent, with adjusted FCF of $84M in FY25 swinging to ($107M) in FY26, underscoring weak cash generation and release timing risk. At FY26-end, debt stood at $1.979B, leverage was 6.1x net debt to TTM AOBIDA, roughly 80% was variable rate, and $1.959B of film-related obligations plus $1.456B of next-12-month debt service constrain flexibility and shareholder returns.

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