Madison Square Garden Sports fell short of Wall Street’s expectations when it reported third-quarter earnings on Friday, sending the stock, which trades under the ticker MSGS, down about 0.8% to just below $330 per share by midday.
The parent company of the New York Knicks and Rangers posted revenue of $432.2 million for the three-month period ending on March 31, a 2% improvement year-over-year. Meanwhile, MSG Sports generated a $2 million operating profit, down $32.3 million from Q3 2025. The company also reports an adjusted income measure that excludes depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensations and other factors, which landed at $10.3 million this quarter, falling $26.6 million.
On the revenue side, MSG Sports narrowly beat the $429.7 million forecasted by analysts, according to equity research firm StreetInsider. But the company landed well below the expected earnings per share with a profit of 66 cents, instead posting a loss of 83 cents.
While the Knicks and Rangers played a combined five fewer regular-season games at the Garden compared to the third quarter of last fiscal year, MSG Sports said per-game revenues for tickets, suites, sponsorship, food and beverage, and merchandise sales all increased year-over-year. The company also benefited from a rise in national media rights fees from the NBA, which signed an 11-year, $76 billion package of deals that kicked in this season.
In addition to the Knicks and the Rangers, MSG Sports owns the development affiliates of each franchise—the Westchester Knicks of the G-League and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack—and operates its training center in Greenburgh, N.Y.
According to Sportico, the Knicks are the third-most valuable franchise in the NBA at $9.85 billion, and the Rangers rank No. 2 in the NHL at $3.65 billion. That puts the collective value of the assets at an enterprise value of $13.5 billion, far surpassing the sub-$8 billion market capitalization of the NYSE-traded stock.
In fact, MSG Sports announced in February that its board of directors unanimously approved a plan to explore splitting the Knicks and Rangers into separate business entities. The goal, the company said, would be to give investors an easier path to evaluating each team’s balance sheet and upside, as well as more flexibility with finances.
No decision has been announced thus far, but because of a new tax rule for publicly traded companies coming in 2027, an uncoupled version of MSG Sports could owe the government an additional $75 million each year.
In the meantime, even with the Rangers failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, MSG Sports can boost its fourth quarter and fiscal year as the Knicks push through the postseason. The team is currently up 2-0 in a second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, with Game 3 set for Friday.