WWE set a 52 week record for stock price as it announced its end of year earnings for 2016 this past Thursday.
According to its earnings call, WWE Network subscribers grew 14% to 1.41 million paid subscribers. Revenue increased 11% to a company record $729.2 million.
Per a company press release, “[T]he Company reported Net income of $8.0 million, or $0.10 per share, as compared to a Net loss of $1.2 million, or a $0.02 loss per share, in the prior year quarter. Operating income increased to $13.9 million from an Operating loss of $1.5 million.”
Notably, television rights fees saw a big year-to-year increase (i.e., 2015-2016). The television division ended the 4th quarter with $68.6 million as opposed to $55.6 million in 2015. The network was up $43.7 million to $40.8 million. Overall, revenue was up across all business divisions except PPV which is likely since the Network is taking over this segment.
As of this writing, the stock is up at $22.37 which is slightly below its 52 week high of $22.56.
Payout Perspective:
The earnings reflect that business is good for the WWE. It is capitalizing on television rights fees while its Network continues to grow according to the numbers.
But they pay their wrestlers like crap.