WWE has released its Q1 earnings for 2019. Interesting to note that Vince McMahon credited a decrease to “superstar absences.” Roman Reigns was gone for the quarter battling leukemia, and John Cena was dealing with prior commitments:
Maintains Path to Record Full-Year Performance
First Quarter 2019 Highlights
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Revenues were $182.4 million as compared to $187.7 million in the prior year quarter
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Operating income reflected a loss of $6.8 million as compared to income of $21.8 million in the prior year quarter
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Adjusted OIBDA1 of $12.4 million was within the range of guidance ($9 million to $14 million) and reflected an anticipated year-over-year decline primarily due to strategic investments
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WWE Network average paid subscribers2 increased 2% to 1.58 million paid subscribers, consistent with the Company’s guidance
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Digital video views increased 15% to 7.7 billion; hours consumed increased 23% to 300 million hours across digital platforms; and social media followers increased 12% to over 1.0 billion3
Selected WrestleMania Highlights
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WrestleMania (April 7, 2019) broke the record for MetLife Stadium’s highest grossing entertainment event at $16.9 million, attracting a capacity crowd of 82,265 fans
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WWE Network subscribers viewed 23.2 million hours during WrestleMania week, which was roughly on par with the same week last year
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During WrestleMania week, 17.9 million hours were consumed on digital and social media platforms, up 29% from the prior year
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WWE Network’s total subscribers reached 2.0 million on April 8, 2019, the day after WrestleMania
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WrestleMania featured a historic, first-ever women’s main event starring Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch
STAMFORD, Conn., April 25, 2019 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2019.
“During the quarter, we continued to execute our strategy and achieved targeted financial results,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. “While engagement metrics over the past two quarters were impacted by Superstar absences, we believe they will improve as our talent return and we launch our new season following a successful WrestleMania. We remain excited about the future, particularly with our debut on Fox in October.”
George Barrios, Co-President, added “In the quarter, we delivered Adjusted OIBDA within the range of our public guidance and continue to target full-year record revenue of approximately $1 billion and record Adjusted OIBDA of at least $200 million. Our primary focus is to deliver record results while investing in our key priorities: content creation, localization, and digitization.”
Check out the full report here.
