Vinyl sales rose 14% and CD sales 22% at wholesaler Alliance Entertainment in the September quarter

Alliance Entertainment, a Florida-based wholesaler that supplies records, CDs, films and games to retailers including Walmart, Amazon, Target and Best Buy, said on November 12, 2026, that its vinyl sales rose 14.4% to $86.7 million in the three months to September 30. Its CD sales climbed 21.5% to $41.2 million. The period is the first quarter of the company's 2027 fiscal year.

Total net revenue rose 9.8% to $278.8 million, and net income rose to $7.6 million from $4.9 million a year earlier. Physical film formats and collectibles also grew, while video games fell sharply.

More records and CDs sold, at higher prices

In its quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Alliance says vinyl revenue grew on both unit volume and average selling price, helped by new releases and special editions in pop, rock and alternative music. CD unit sales rose 12.7% and the average CD price 7.8%. Among the quarter's high-profile releases the company names Stray Kids' K-pop mini-album THIS AND THAT, and it describes CDs as gaining favor as a collectible format with dedicated fan bases.

Taken together, vinyl and CDs brought in $127.9 million, about 46% of the quarter's revenue, up from about 43% a year earlier (our calculation from the company's figures). Sales of turntables, headphones, speakers and other playback equipment more than doubled to $4.0 million.

Chief executive Jeff Walker said fans “who can listen to an album or watch a movie online still want something special they can own and collect.” The 10-Q notes that the CD gains came despite the music industry's continuing move toward streaming and digital listening.

Films up, games down

Physical movies stayed the largest category, at about 36% of revenue. Sales rose 20.4% to $101.1 million as unit volume grew 22.1% and the average price slipped 1.4%. Alliance points to titles it distributes under its agreements with Paramount and Amazon MGM Studios, including Scary Movie and Project Hail Mary.

Gaming revenue fell 40.4% to $27.2 million. The company says fewer Microsoft products were available, it sold no arcade products in the quarter, and the year-earlier period had included sales tied to the June 2025 launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. Digital download revenue fell 33.7%. Related: our report on Nintendo's first-half results.

What the figures cover

The numbers are Alliance's own sales to stores and online sellers, so they show what its retail customers ordered rather than total U.S. consumer spending on each format. About 36.2% of gross revenue came through its direct-to-consumer services for online retailers, including its subsidiary DirectToU.

Inventory rose to $152.0 million at September 30 from $126.6 million at June 30, which the company links to sales growth and the demand it expects as the holiday season begins. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, edged up about 1% to $12.3 million. Lower borrowing costs after an October 2025 refinancing and a non-cash gain on warrants lifted net income, the company says.