TKO Group Holdings reported its first quarter earnings for 2025 on Thursday as the company continues its earnings growth. It beat analyst expectations of $0.55 per share with $0.72 earnings per share.
At the end of the first quarter, TKO earned revenue of $1.2688B and turned that into a net profit of $165.5M. Its adjusted EBITDA was $417M. Estimated revenue was adjusted for the year from $2.93-$3B to $3.005B-$3.075B.
In addition, the company paid out its first-ever dividend on March 31st.
UFC had revenue of $360M as live events and corporate sponsorships continue to rise. Notably, the UFC renewed its deal with one of its longtime sponsors, Monster Energy. It also secured Meta as a sponsor. This shows an increase of $47M from last year. WWE had revenue of $391.5M in Q1 as compared to $317M last year.
The UFC showed improvements in most of its sectors: Media rights, Live events and Partnerships. The only segment where it lags from last year was Consumer Products which showed revenue of $12.7M as opposed to $14.6M last year.
WWE showed increases in all of its segments including Consumer Products.
Notably, in Q1, TKO made its second installment of the $375M settlement in the Le UFC antitrust lawsuit. In February 2025, it paid out $125M out of escrow in February 2025. It will make its last payment in the second quarter of 2025. The first installment occurred in October 2024.
Also of note, the Sports Business Journal mentioned the issue of tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration affecting public companies. Looks like it helps to be friends with the president.
As the UFC media rights negotiations will start to heat up, it is worth noting how much Netflix has embraced WWE Raw. Moreover, there is speculation that TKO will land the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight will land on Netflix which could help with the streaming service landing the UFC.
Payout Perspective:
The earnings highlight the continued growth of the UFC and WWE. Both companies are riding highs with its popularity which is reflected in the live gates and corporate sponsorships. Since taking over, TKO has been much more aggressive with sponsorships for WWE as exemplified with signage on the mat. The UFC has secured some big sponsorships including renewing with Monster Energy, Meta and IBM.
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