TKO Group President and COO Mark Shapiro was asked Wednesday during the company’s quarterly earnings call whether he is rooting for Paramount or Netflix to win the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery.
“I’m not going to get pulled into that trap,” he said. “We’re just an observer just like everybody else.”
After that gesture toward “no comment,” The irrepressible exec proceeded to continue commenting. TKO does “meaningful business” and has “great working relationships” with both suitors, Shapiro said, “including hand-to-hand with David Ellison and Ted Sarandos. We obviously have no input or control over what happens. That is ultimately for the Warner Bros shareholders to decide. We’re just watching as it runs its course. I will say, we see pros for TKO with either side winning.”
Prior to the call, TKO Group posted a 12% rise in revenue to just over $1 billion and swung to a net profit in a mixed quarter. CEO Ari Emanuel said the company saw “meaningful momentum across both UFC and WWE” in the period.
At UFC, sales popped 17% to $401 million and profit rose 20% to $213 million. UFC CEO Dana White told reporters this week that the countdown to an unusual, one-off fight at the White House is moving ahead and he’d met with President Trump last Friday to talk logistics.
During the call, execs estimated that losses from putting on the event would likely total about $30 million. While sponsorships could offset the costs at an unknown level, Shapiro confirmed that “we will not be making money on the country’s 250th birthday.”
WWE profit jumped 44% to $165 million on revenue up 21% i to $360 million, with the company citing the contractual escalation of rights fees from distribution deals with Netflix and ESPN.
The IMG segment saw sales dip to $248 million last quarter. TKO is be managing premium hospitality, logistics, and VIP services for the FIFA World Cup 2026 through On Location and IMG.
Free cash flow grew to $1.16 billion – up by $691 billion. Expenses also rose.
About two years after TKO’s launch, Emanuel called it well positioned with long-term media rights agreements in place and operational strength across the business and said, “We intend to initiate the next phase of our capital return program, underpinning our commitment to deliver long-term, sustainable value for shareholders.”
President and COO Mark Shapiro called TKO “a high-quality execution story with multiple avenues for outperformance,” noting record-setting live events and global partnerships including the launch of Zuffa Boxing last month with Paramount+ as it exclusive home – something Ellison talked about enthusiastically on Paramount’s earnings call, which was also held Wednesday afternoon.
Last August, right after closing with Skydance, Paramount inked a major seven-year media rights agreement worth an average $1.1 billion annually to become the exclusive home of all UFC events in the U.S. starting in 2026. The WWE also did a landmark rights deal with Netflix in 2024 for Monday Night Raw.
The full year is looking strong, the company says. TKO is forecasting revenue of $5.675 billion to $5.775 billion for the full year. It’s eyeing adjusted ebitda of $2.24 billion to $2.29 billion – both are higher that previous estimates.
