TKO: WWE Q3 Revenue Fell 1% to $399.3 Million
Summary: TKO reported on Nov. 4 that WWE revenue for the third quarter was $399.3 million, down 1% from a year ago, while WWE adjusted EBITDA rose to $217.2 million. Fewer premium live events were the main reason.
The quick version
- WWE revenue was $399.3 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, down $2.8 million from $402.1 million a year earlier.
- WWE adjusted EBITDA, a profit measure, rose $9.4 million to $217.2 million.
- TKO raised its full-year revenue outlook to $5.79 billion to $5.83 billion.
TKO Group Holdings reported on Wednesday, Nov. 4, that WWE's revenue for the third quarter of 2026 was $399.3 million, a 1% drop from the same quarter last year. The company's earnings release is the source for every figure here. WWE's profit measure still went up.
The numbers
All figures are for the three months ended Sept. 30, from TKO's release.
- WWE revenue: $399.3 million, versus $402.1 million in 2025.
- WWE adjusted EBITDA: $217.2 million, versus $207.8 million in 2025.
- Nine-month WWE revenue: $1,495.9 million, versus $1,349.8 million in the same period of 2025.
- TKO overall revenue: $1.360 billion, up 21%. UFC revenue rose to $519.2 million.
Why WWE dipped
The release says live events and hospitality revenue fell $24.8 million. Partnerships and marketing revenue rose $11.1 million, media rights, production and content revenue rose $6.9 million, and consumer products licensing and other revenue rose $4.0 million.
Deadline reports the release attributes the live events decline mainly to ticket revenue "related to the mix and timing of events." Deadline also says there were three fewer main roster premium live events than a year earlier, and that this year's SummerSlam had lower sales than the 2025 edition.
Outlook
TKO raised its full-year guidance for the second time this year, to $5.79 billion to $5.83 billion in revenue and $2.295 billion to $2.315 billion in adjusted EBITDA, per Deadline. TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro said in the release that "the vast majority of our existing revenues" are secured for the next five to seven years, according to Deadline's account of the release.
The call also covered WWE events in Saudi Arabia and a possible Tokyo show. We cover those in separate stories.
What to watch
WWE's fourth quarter includes Crown Jewel in Riyadh on Saturday, Nov. 7. SI reports Shapiro said business in Saudi Arabia is crucial to hitting the company's targets.
Source: TKO Group's third quarter 2026 earnings release dated Nov. 4, 2026, with Deadline and SI for context. Nothing in this story is a rumor.
Sources
- TKO Group Holdings, "TKO Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results" (earnings release), Nov. 4, 2026. https://investor.tkogrp.com/files/doc_financials/2026/q3/TKO_3Q26-Earnings-Release_11-4-26_FINAL.pdf
- Yahoo Finance, "TKO Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results" (release text), Nov. 4, 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/tko-reports-third-quarter-2026-210500062.html
- Deadline, "Killer Q3 For UFC Helps TKO Beat Wall Street Earnings Forecasts", Nov. 2026. https://deadline.com/2026/11/tko-q3-2026-earnings-ufc-revenue-wall-street-1237213440
- Sports Illustrated FanNation (Zack Heydorn), "WWE Q3 Revenues Revealed as TKO Group Increases Projections", Nov. 4, 2026. https://si.com/fannation/wrestling/wwe/wwe-q3-revenues-revealed-as-tko-group-updates-projections
- WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: checked the WWE figures in the release table against the text. Deadline's article gives WWE's revenue change as "$2.8 million," which is the size of the decline, not the revenue. We used the release.
How we credit sources: Editorial standards.