Despite agreeing to pay $375 million to settle one of the two antitrust charges filed against the UFC, TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of the UFC and WWE, reported another solid quarter to end 2024 and an excellent year overall. TKO reported $642.2 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 and $2.804 billion in total revenue for the year in a financial declaration released on Wednesday. With a net income of $6.4 million for the year, the fourth quarter’s net income was $47.5 million. The primary reason for the fourth quarter’s 5% year-over-year increase was UFC’s ongoing expansion, which saw an increase in revenue of $61.1 million to $343.8 million, offsetting a $32.9 million at WWE.
The main cause of the decline at WWE was the timing of the move of the company’s main program, Monday Night Raw, from USA Network to Netflix. These figures are anticipated to change significantly in the future as a result of WWE and Netflix signing a huge $5 billion, 10-year contract that began in January. Revenue at TKO climbed 67 percent to $2.804 billion for the entire year, driven by increases of $114 million at the UFC and $1.015 billion at WWE. There was a $169.3 million drop in net income from the prior year to $6.4 million for the year. The $375 million spent to resolve the UFC antitrust complaint had a significant impact on the decline.
TKO reported in the financial declaration that the business paid $125 million in the first place and another $125 million in February as part of that settlement. It is anticipated that the $125 million third and last payment will be issued in the second quarter of 2025. Now that 2024 is over, TKO is set for a huge year in 2025 thanks to two extremely lucrative TV deals that are approaching. The UFC is presently in an exclusive negotiation window with the Disney-owned network on the possibility of extending the promotion’s contract with ESPN, which expires in 2025. Since the UFC is reportedly looking for more than $1 billion annually as part of a new broadcast deal, there are reports that many networks and streaming firms may enter the bidding when the exclusive window ends in April.
With the rights to the company’s major live events, such as WrestleMania and the Royal Rumble, up for auction with the current agreement at Peacock, the WWE also has a significant year ahead of it, albeit one that is likely not quite as large. TKO stated that $2.930 billion to $3 billion would be its anticipated revenue in 2025. In a news release, TKO CEO and executive chairman Ari Emanuel stated, “TKO delivered record financial performance in 2024 at both UFC and WWE, reflecting the strength of our [intellectual property], the dynamic audiences we serve, and the industry-best team of people we’ve assembled.”
“We will be concentrating on obtaining long-term domestic media rights agreements for UFC and WWE’s Premium Live Events in the United States; expanding our portfolio to include IMG, On Location, and Professional Bull Riders; producing even more captivating live events; and carrying out our strong capital return program for shareholders in the upcoming year.” TKO’s stock has been rising steadily, rising 2.26 percent on Wednesday and is trading at $159.55.