Tariffs and trade wars apparently mean little to TKO Group: The UFC and WWE parent posted better-than-expected first quarter earnings and raised its outlook for the year Thursday.
TKO reported sales of $1.27 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, with net income of $165.5 million, both better than consensus expectations of Wall Street analysts, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The boosts were driven by double-digit gains in UFC and WWE, which benefited from site fees for holding events and the wrestling business’ presence on Netflix.
While the economic uncertainty from Donald Trump’s tariffs have caused at least 40 companies to withdraw their sales guidance in recent weeks, according to Reuters, TKO raised its outlook for 2025 with the earnings report after trading Thursday. The company now sees full-year revenue for UFC and WWE coming in between $3.005 billion and $3.075 billion, $75 million higher than its previous guidance on both ends of the range. Including businesses acquired during the quarter, full year sales should come in at or over $4.49 billion. TKO shares were relatively unchanged throughout the day, closing at $168.96 to mark a decline of 0.42%.
UFC revenue was $359.7 million in the period, up $46.7 million from a year ago, about half of which came from increased live events and hospitality revenue. WWE sales were up $74.8 million to $391.5 million, thanks in part to a $30.5 million revenue uptick driven by the move of Raw to Netflix to start the year.
During the first quarter, TKO also acquired IMG, On Location and Professional Bull Riders. IMG and On Location had a poorer quarter, with media rights revenue slipping $16.2 million to $161.3 million mainly due to the company losing the rights to the FA Cup. On Location saw its revenue drop $64.6 million to $288.5 million “due to less favorable locations and venues related to the Super Bowl and collegiate bowl games,” the company said in the earnings press release.
A new reporting division for TKO, called Corporate and Other, houses PBR and other businesses not associated with UFC, WWE, On Location or IMG. That division saw sales rise $2.2 million to $54.4 million, thanks mainly to a rise in PBR revenue from having four additional events in the first quarter.
It’s possible TKO isn’t completely shielded from tariffs—Mattel, which licenses WWE for action figures, warned it would need to raise prices on some doll lines earlier this week. Still, it seems to not worry shareholders: TKO shares have risen more than 20% this year while most major equity indexes have fallen.
(This story has been updated in the third paragraph with TKO’s closing price.)
