TKO Group, the home of UFC and WWE, saw revenue jump 18% to $1.5 billion for the three months ended in June, beating Wall Street estimates.
The stock, which has been taking its knocks this year, jumped in late trading after the earnings report, which included higher forecasts for 2026 full-year revenue and adjusted ebidta, key metrics for investors.
“Despite a challenging global environment, TKO delivered solid results in Q2, with strong momentum heading into the back half of the year,” said executive chair and CEO Ariel Emanuel. “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.”
At UFC, revenue rose by $120 million to $536 million. Higher UFC media rights fees reflected the impact of a distribution agreement with Paramount that began in January. The league also saw new partners and an increase in fees from renewals vs the year before largely driven by the UFC Freedom 250 event held at the White House in June. Ticket sales fell, since none were sold for the high-profile event, and there was one less numbered event in the quarter from the year earlier.
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At WWE, revenue rose by $64.7 million to $621 million.
TKO’s IMG segment saw sales up by $48 million to $354.7 million.
TKO net income grew $31 million to $304 million on higher revenue partly offset by increased expense, including $98 million of legal fees and settlement costs associated with stockholder litigation related to WWE.
The company’s adjusted ebitda rose 23% to $649.9 million. Free cash flow of $349.6 million fell by $25.3 million
TKO shares closed up 1.2% ahead of earnings and are about 2% after, at $187.
“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,” said TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro, saying its move to raise full-year guidance reflects “both our performance to date and our confidence in TKO’s multi-year trajectory,”
“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.”
Execs are hosting a call with analysts at 5 pm ET.
More to come