Company beats the Street's expectations on revenue, earnings and sees gains in margin
TKO posted another strong quarter fueled by strong demand from fans and marketers for UFC and WWE events.
The parent company of the two leagues surpassed the Street’s expectations on revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization with its second quarter results released Monday. TKO raised its full-year revenue guidance by another $75 million while full-year adjusted EBITDA is projected to be up by $25 million.
“Despite a challenging global environment, TKO delivered solid results in Q2, with strong momentum
heading into the back half of the year,” said Ariel Emanuel, executive chair and CEO of TKO. “Premium
live content and experiences are heating up in an increasingly AI-driven world, and our businesses are
well positioned to fully capitalize on societal secular tailwinds.”
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As of today, TKO is raising its guidance for full-year 2026 revenue of $5.775 billion to $5.825 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of $2.275 billion to $2.305 billion.
“From UFC Freedom 250 to the FIFA World Cup, TKO continues to deliver on the biggest stages and
this quarter reinforced our 2026 execution story. Our decision to raise full-year guidance reflects both our performance to date and our confidence in TKO’s multi-year trajectory,” said Mark Shapiro, president
and COO of TKO. “Our global fan base is expanding, and we are capitalizing on the commercial promise
across ticketing, premium hospitality, marketing partnerships, and financial incentive packages. The
demand in the experience economy is undeniable and positions us well for multi-year growth, margin
expansion and overall value creation.”
For the quarter, TKO in total delivered revenue of $1.547 billion, up 18% from the year-ago quarter, with net income of $303.9 million and adjusted EBITDA of $649.9 million.
UFC saw double-digit growth across the board, with revenue climbing 29% to to $535.7 million, fueled by a $64.7 million increase in media rights, production and content revenue and a $59 million increase in partnerships and marketing revenue, topped by a nearly $7 million gain in consumer products licensing revenue. Adjusted EBITDA increased 15% to $280.4 million.
WWE posted a 12% gain to $620.9 million, driven by a $80.8 million increase in media
rights, production and content revenue and a $12.7 million increase in consumer products licensing revenue. Partnerships and marketing revenue was up $4.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA also increased by 12% to $368.3 million.
TKO now includes the legacy IMG business and the On Location hospitality service. The onset of the World Cup was good news for On Location. The unit’s revenue increased 16% to $354.7 million, driven by a $66.4 million increase in live events and hospitality revenue. Adjusted EBITDA increased 171%, or $49.6 million, to $78.6 million.
TKO formally raised its full-year guidance for revenue and adjusted EBITDA to a range of $5.775 billion to $5.825 billion for revenue and $2.275 billion to $2.305 billion for adjusted EBITDA.
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Source: Variety
