Churchill Downs Inc vs LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT, INC., two Entertainment stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Churchill Downs runs horse racing tracks and regional casinos; Live Nation runs concerts and the Ticketmaster machine. Both live off people paying to be entertained, but the economics read differently. Churchill earns a 13.2% net margin and a 35.49% return on equity, though that return sits on a heavily levered balance sheet, with debt at 4.5 times equity typical of a casino builder. Live Nation keeps almost nothing per revenue dollar, a 0.33% net margin, because most ticket money flows straight through to artists and venues by design. Free cash yields are close, 4.74% at Churchill against 2.91% at Live Nation. Churchill Downs is the levered racing-and-casino operator, Live Nation the high-volume events promoter, sharing little beyond selling experiences.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CHDN | LYV |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $85.44 | $179.86 |
| Market cap | $6.0B | $41.8B |
| Sector | Entertainment | Entertainment |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -3.8% | +35.9% |
| P/B | 5.46 | 86.75 |
| P/S | 2.03 | 1.63 |
| EV/EBITDA | 11.6 | 27.7 |
| Revenue growth | +5.8% | +12.7% |
| Operating margin | 21.6% | -9.8% |
| Net margin | 13.2% | 0.3% |
| Return on equity | 35.5% | 17.4% |
| Return on assets | 5.2% | 0.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 8.4% | 8.4% |
| FCF yield | 4.9% | 2.9% |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | — |
| Debt / equity | 4.50 | 13.93 |
| Current ratio | 0.54 | 0.88 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.17 | 6.78 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.