Results
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContacts:
TKO Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
Raises Full Year 2026 Guidance
Announces Intent to Commence Additional Share Repurchases
Third Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights
Revenue of $1.360 billion
Net income of $277.9 million
Adjusted EBITDA 1 of $555.7 million
Year-to-date, the Company has returned in excess of $1.6 billion of capital to equity holders through share repurchases and dividend payments and related distributions
Full Year 2026 Guidance
The Company increased its target for revenue to $5.790 billion to $5.830 billion
The Company increased its target for Adjusted EBITDA to $2.295 billion to $2.315 billion
New York, NY, November 4, 2026 – TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (“TKO” or the “Company”) (NYSE: TKO) today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2026.
“Our third quarter performance reflects the secular tailwinds powering live events and experiences around the world, and TKO’s assets sit front and center of that premium ecosystem,” said Mark Shapiro, President and COO of TKO.
“As we close out what we’ve called our year of execution, our decision to raise full-year guidance for the second time this year is the clearest expression of our conviction across the entire portfolio.
Our business is durable and our fundamentals are solid, with the vast majority of our existing revenues locked in for the next five to seven years.
Macro trends are firmly in our favor, every facet of sports consumption is pointing north, and we see substantial runway ahead.”
Consolidated Results 2
Third Quarter 2026
Revenue increased 21%, or $240.2 million, to $1.360 billion.
The increase primarily reflected an increase of $194.0 million at UFC, to $519.2 million, a decrease of $2.8 million at WWE, to $399.3 million, and an increase of $54.6 million at the IMG segment, to $391.3 million.
Net Income was $277.9 million, an increase of $171.1 million from $106.8 million in the prior year period.
The improvement reflected the increase in revenue partially offset by an increase in operating
expenses.
The increase in operating expenses primarily reflected an increase in direct operating costs of $49.3 million and an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses of $21.4 million, partially offset by a decrease in depreciation and amortization of $36.1 million.
Adjusted EBITDA 1 increased 54%, or $195.5 million, to $555.7 million, due primarily to an increase of $119.7 million at UFC, to $285.3 million, an increase of $9.4 million at WWE, to $217.2 million, and an increase of $54.5 million at the IMG segment, to $115.9 million.
Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 41% from 32%.
8Cash flows generated by operating activities were $472.1 million, an increase of $55.3 million from $416.8 million, primarily due to the improved operating performance and the timing of working capital.
Free Cash Flow 3 was $449.9 million, an increase of $51.0 million from $398.9 million, due to the increase in cash flows generated by operating activities, partially offset by an increase in capital expenditures.
Cash and cash equivalents were $630.9 million as of September 30, 2026.
Gross debt was $4.647 billion as of September 30, 2026.
Results by Operating Segment 4
The table below reflects TKO’s performance by operating segment:
UFC
Third Quarter 2026
Revenue increased 60%, or $194.0 million, to $519.2 million driven by a $132.3 million increase in media rights, production and content revenue, a $36.0 million increase in live events and hospitality revenue, a $20.5 million increase in partnerships and marketing revenue, and a $5.2 million increase in consumer products licensing and other revenue.
6The increase in media rights, production and content revenue was primarily related to higher media rights fees, which reflected the impact of the new distribution agreement with Skydance that began in January 2026 as well as one additional Numbered Event and one additional Fight Night, compared to the prior year period.
4The increase in live events and hospitality revenue was due to an increase in ticket sales revenue, which reflected the record-setting performance of UFC 329 and two additional events, as well as higher financial incentive package revenue, compared to the prior year period.
The increase in partnerships and marketing revenue was primarily related to new partners and an increase in fees from renewals as well as the benefit from two additional events, compared to the prior year period.
The increase in consumer products licensing and other revenue was primarily due to higher royalties on UFC-branded products, including video games, compared to the prior year period.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 72%, or $119.7 million, to $285.3 million, due to the increase in revenue (as described above) partially offset by an increase in expenses.
3Direct operating costs reflected higher athlete, production and other event-related costs, which were largely driven by two additional events and the impact of UFC 329 which had a higher cost profile compared to other Numbered Events and aligns with the increased revenues from the event, compared to the prior year period.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased primarily due to higher personnel and travel costs compared to the prior year period.
Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 55% from 51%.
WWE
Third Quarter 2026
Revenue decreased 1%, or $2.8 million, to $399.3 million driven by a $24.8 million decrease in live events and hospitality revenue, partially offset by a $11.1 million increase in partnerships and marketing revenue, a $6.9 million increase in media rights, production and content revenue, and a $4.0 million increase in consumer products licensing and other revenue.
The decrease in live events and hospitality revenue was primarily due to a decrease in ticket sales revenue related to the mix and timing of events including three fewer Main Roster Premium Live Events and lower sales for SummerSlam , compared to the prior year period.
The increase in partnerships and marketing revenue was primarily related to new partners and an increase in fees from renewals despite three fewer Main Roster Premium Live Events, compared to the prior year period.
The increase in media rights, production and content revenue was primarily related to higher media rights fees, notably the impact of the new distribution agreement with ESPN that began in September 2025, partially offset by the three fewer Main Roster Premium Live Events, compared to the prior year period.
The increase in consumer products licensing and other revenue was primarily related to the sale of WWE-branded products, including video games and trading cards, compared to the prior year period.
7A djusted EBITDA increased 5%, or $9.4 million, to $217.2 million, due to a decrease in expenses partially offset by the decrease in revenue (as described above).
Direct operating costs reflected lower production, talent, and other event-related costs, which were largely driven by three fewer Main Roster Premium Live Events, compared to the prior year period.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to lower personnel costs compared to the prior year period.
Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 54% from 52%.
IMG
The IMG segment reflects the operations of the IMG business and On Location.
Third Quarter 2026
Revenue increased 16%, or $54.6 million, to $391.3 million primarily driven by a $34.3 million increase in partnerships and marketing revenue, an $11.3 million increase in live events and hospitality revenue, and a $9.1 million increase in media rights, production and content revenue.
The increase in partnerships and marketing revenue was primarily related to new marketing deals at the IMG business for tennis and soccer, compared to the prior year period.
The increase in live events and hospitality revenue was primarily related to FIFA World Cup 2026 hospitality sales at On Location, partially offset by the absence of the biennial Ryder Cup event at the IMG business, compared to the prior year period.
The increase in media rights, production and content revenue related to the IMG business and primarily reflected new distribution deals for FIFA World Cup, tennis and soccer, compared to the prior year period.
A djusted EBITDA increased 89%, or $54.5 million, to $115.9 million, primarily due to the increase in revenue (as described above) as expenses were essentially flat.
Direct operating costs declined, primarily due to the absence of expenses related to the biennial Ryder Cup event, compared to the prior year period.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased primarily due to costs related to FIFA World Cup 2026 compared to the prior year period.
Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 30% from 18%.
Corporate and Other
Corporate and Other reflects operations not allocated to the UFC, WWE, or IMG segments and primarily consists of general and administrative expenses, the operations of PBR, as well as management and promotional fees for services primarily related to boxing.
Third Quarter 2026
2Revenue decreased 3%, or $2.0 million, to $61.3 million.
1The decrease was primarily related to a decrease in revenue related to the Company’s boxing initiatives due to a one-time benefit recognized in 2025 due to the initial vesting of the Company’s equity in Zuffa Boxing, partially offset by an increase in revenue at PBR, despite three fewer total events, compared to the prior year period.
Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $62.7 million, an improvement of $11.9 million compared to a loss of $74.6 million in the prior year period.
Results reflected a decrease in expenses partially offset by the decrease in revenue (as described above).
Expenses primarily reflected lower event-related costs at PBR from holding fewer events due to a strategic review to remove non-core events compared to the prior year period.
Full Year 2026 Guidance
In February, the Company issued revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $5.675 billion to $5.775 billion and $2.240 billion to $2.290 billion, respectively, for the full year 2026.
5In August, the Company raised its revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance to $5.775 billion to $5.825 billion and $2.275 billion to $2.305 billion, respectively, for the full year 2026.
Based on performance through the first nine months of the year and our visibility into and anticipated performance for the remainder of the year, the Company is raising its guidance and now expects full year 2026 revenue of $5.790 billion to $5.830 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of $2.295 billion to $2.315 billion.
The anticipated performance assumes that the Company stages all live events, including those in the Middle East region, as currently planned.
The Company intends to provide additional detail related to its 2026 guidance on today’s earnings call.
Other Matters
Return of Capital Program
The Company announced that it intends to commence additional repurchases of its outstanding Class A common stock under its existing share repurchase program.
As previously disclosed, the Company’s board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $3 billion of outstanding Class A common stock.
As of November 4, 2026, the Company has approximately $936.0 million available under its existing authorization.
The Company expects to repurchase the balance of the existing authorization, which it intends to fund primarily from additional debt and cash on hand.
The Company will determine at its discretion the timing and the amount of any repurchases based on its evaluation of market conditions, share price, and other factors.
On August 6, 2026, the Company entered into a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan for the repurchase of up to $200 million of its outstanding Class A Common Stock (the “August 10b5-1 Plan”).
During the third quarter, the Company repurchased 451,377 shares under the August 10b5-1 Plan for approximately $85.5 million.
From October 1, 2026 through the completion of the August 10b5-1 Plan on October 30, 2026, the Company repurchased 417,795 shares for approximately $73.4 million.
As previously disclosed, on July 1, 2026, the Company completed its accelerated share repurchase agreement (the “ASR Agreement”) to repurchase $800 million, or 4,167,298 shares, of its outstanding Class A common stock.
As previously disclosed, on May 11, 2026, the Company entered into a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan for the repurchase of up to $200 million of its outstanding Class A Common Stock (the “May 10b5-1 Plan”).
From May 14, 2026 through July 22, 2026, the Company repurchased 1,022,434 shares for approximately $200.0 million.
On September 30, 2026, the Company paid a quarterly cash dividend to the holders of the Company’s Class A common stock based on their pro rata share of an aggregate distribution of approximately $150 million, or $0.79 per share, from TKO Operating Company, LLC.
Notes
The definition of Adjusted EBITDA can be found in the Non-GAAP Financial Measures section of the release on page 8.
A reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 and 2025 can be found in the Supplemental Information in this release on page 16.
As the acquisition of the Acquired Businesses was accounted for as a merger between entities under common control, reported results presented in this earnings release reflect the results of the Acquired Businesses as if they had been part of TKO during the historical periods presented herein.
See the “Basis of Presentation” discussion on page 9 for further details.
The definition of Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Conversion can be found in the Non-GAAP Financial Measures section of the release on page 8.
A reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities to Free Cash Flow for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 and 2025 can be found in the Supplemental Information in this release on page 17.
An explanation of the basis of presentation can be found in this release on page 9.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The Company refers to certain financial measures that are not recognized under United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).
This press release includes financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Conversion.
Please see the definitions below and the reconciliation tables included in this release for additional information and a reconciliation of the Non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures.
The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income excluding income taxes, net interest expense, depreciation and amortization, equity-based compensation, merger, acquisition and earnout costs, certain legal costs, restructuring, severance and impairment charges, foreign exchange (gains) losses, and certain other items when applicable.
Adjusted EBITDA margin is defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue.
TKO management believes that Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are useful to investors as these measures eliminate the significant level of non-cash depreciation and amortization expense that results from its capital investments and intangible assets, and improve comparability by eliminating the significant level of interest expense associated with TKO’s debt facilities, as well as income taxes which may not be comparable with other companies based on TKO’s tax and corporate structure.
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are used as the primary bases to evaluate TKO’s consolidated operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of TKO’s results as reported under GAAP.
Some of these limitations are:
they do not reflect every cash expenditure, future requirements for capital expenditures, or contractual commitments;
Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the significant interest expense or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on TKO’s debt;
although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced or require improvements in the future, and Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin do not reflect any cash requirement for such replacements or improvements; and
they are not adjusted for all non-cash income or expense items that are reflected in TKO’s statements of cash flows.
TKO management compensates for these limitations by using Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin along with other comparative tools, together with GAAP measurements, to assist in the evaluation of TKO’s operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin should not be considered substitutes for the reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to net income as indicators of TKO’s financial performance, as measures of discretionary cash available to it to invest in the growth of its business or as measures of cash that will be available to TKO to meet its obligations.
Although TKO uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin as financial measures to assess the performance of its business, such use is limited because it does not include certain material costs necessary to operate TKO’s business.
TKO’s presentation of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin should not be construed as indications that its future results will be unaffected by unusual or nonrecurring items.
These non-GAAP financial measures, as determined and presented by TKO, may not be comparable to related or similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
Set forth below are reconciliations of TKO’s most directly comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP to these non-GAAP financial measures on a consolidated basis.
The Company defines Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by operating activities less cash used for capital expenditures.
TKO views net cash provided by operating activities as the most directly comparable GAAP measure.
Free Cash Flow Conversion is defined as Free Cash Flow divided by Adjusted EBITDA.
Although they are not recognized measures of liquidity under U.S. GAAP, Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Conversion provide useful information regarding the amount of cash TKO’s continuing business generates after capital expenditures and is available for reinvesting in the business, debt service, share repurchases and payment of dividends.
Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Conversion have certain limitations in that they do not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash balance for the period, nor do they represent the residual cash flow for discretionary expenditures.
Reconciliations of the Company’s Non-GAAP financial measure guidance to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures cannot be provided without unreasonable efforts and are not provided herein because of the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliations and certain other items reflected in our reconciliation of historical Non-GAAP financial measures, the amounts of which could be material.
Basis of Presentation
As a result of the February 28, 2025 closing of the Company’s agreement with Endeavor to acquire IMG, On Location, and PBR (the “Acquired Businesses”) in a common control transaction, TKO’s consolidated financial information presented herein reflect the combined results of TKO and the Acquired Businesses as if they had been part of TKO during the historical periods presented under common control.
TKO’s financial information presented herein for the periods that it did not own the Acquired Businesses were prepared by Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. and include allocations for corporate expenses to the businesses based on Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc.’s corporate expense profile.
These expenses consisted of certain support functions that were provided on a centralized basis, such as expenses related to finance, human resources, information technology, facilities, and legal, among others and were allocated to the Acquired Businesses.
Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. allocated these corporate expenses on a pro rata basis of headcount, gross profit, and other allocation methodologies.
Corporate allocations were $21.7
million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025 representing allocations from January 1 through February 28, 2025.
Under TKO ownership effective February 28, 2025, such corporate allocations no longer occur.
Effective February 28, 2025, the Company operates its business under three reportable segments, UFC, WWE, and IMG.
The UFC and WWE segments consist entirely of the operations of these businesses, while the IMG segment consists entirely of the operations of IMG and On Location.
In addition, the Company reports results for the “Corporate and Other” group, which includes the operations of PBR, management and promotional fees for services primarily related to boxing as well as general and administrative expenses that are not allocated to the business segments.
These expenses largely relate to corporate activities, including information technology, facilities, legal, human resources, finance, accounting, treasury, investor relations, corporate communications, community relations and compensation to TKO’s management and board of directors, which support the reportable segments.
All prior period amounts related to the segment change have been retrospectively reclassified to conform to the new presentation.
The profitability measure employed by the Company in assessing operating performance, including that of its segments, is Adjusted EBITDA.
The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income, excluding income taxes, net interest expense, depreciation and amortization, equity-based compensation, merger, acquisition and earnout costs, certain legal costs, restructuring, severance and impairment charges, foreign exchange (gains) losses, and certain other items when applicable.
Adjusted EBITDA includes amortization expenses directly related to supporting the operations of the Company’s segments, including content production asset amortization.
Additional Information
Any accompanying materials referenced during the call will be made available on November 4, 2026, at investor.tkogrp.com .
TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium sports and entertainment company.
TKO’s businesses include UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization; WWE, the global leader in sports entertainment; PBR, the world’s premier bull riding organization; and its joint venture Zuffa Boxing, a professional boxing promotion.
Together, these properties reach more than 1 billion households across 210 countries and territories and organize more than 500 live events year-round, attracting more than three million fans.
TKO also services and partners with major sports rights holders through IMG, an industry-leading global sports marketing agency; and On Location, a global leader in premium experiential hospitality.
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