TKO Group Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
August 3, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: TKO reported strong Q2 results, with revenue up 18% to $1.547 billion and adjusted EBITDA up 23% to $650 million, while adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 42%.
  • Positive Sentiment: Management raised full-year 2026 guidance to $5.775 billion–$5.825 billion in revenue and $2.275 billion–$2.305 billion in adjusted EBITDA, citing broad-based strength across UFC, WWE, and IMG rather than a single driver.
  • Positive Sentiment: On Location’s FIFA World Cup hospitality business exceeded expectations, with more than $2 billion in sales through Q2; TKO now expects full-year World Cup adjusted EBITDA to surpass its prior estimate of approximately $75 million.
  • Negative Sentiment: UFC Freedom 250 generated substantial audience and partnership exposure but resulted in an approximately $30 million loss because TKO absorbed unusually high costs and did not sell tickets for the event.
  • Positive Sentiment: TKO plans to resume share repurchases under its existing authorization, with just over $1 billion available, after returning more than $1.3 billion to equity holders through dividends and buybacks year to date.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
TKO Group Q2 2026
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Operator

Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to TKO's second quarter 2026 earnings call. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. I will now hand the conference over to Seth Zaslow, Head of Investor Relations. Seth, please go ahead.

Seth Zaslow
Seth Zaslow
Head of Investor Relations at TKO Group

Good afternoon, and welcome to TKO's second quarter 2026 earnings call. A short while ago, we issued a press release, which you can view on our investor relations website. A recording of this call will also be available via our website for at least 30 days. After prepared remarks from Ari Emanuel, TKO's Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Shapiro, TKO's President and Chief Operating Officer, and Andrew Schleimer, TKO's Chief Financial Officer, we'll open the call for questions. Mark and Andrew will be handling the Q&A. The purpose of this call is to provide you with information regarding our second quarter 2026 performance. I want to remind everyone that the information discussed will include forward-looking statements and/or projections that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further detail.

Seth Zaslow
Seth Zaslow
Head of Investor Relations at TKO Group

If these risks or uncertainties were to materialize or any assumptions prove incorrect, our results may differ materially from those expressed or implied on this call. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events, except as legally required. Our commentary today will also include non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe provide an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends. These measures should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP metrics can be found in our press release issued today, as well as the information posted on our IR website. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Ari.

Ari Emanuel
Ari Emanuel
Executive Chair and CEO at TKO Group

Thanks, Seth. TKO's unique ability to deliver one-of-one live events and experiences was front and center in the second quarter. Nothing illustrates this better than UFC Freedom 250, held in June. This event was a roaring success for our company, the UFC brand, and the sport of mixed martial arts. Exposure, earned media, audience expansion, and a weekend-long fan experience. TKO also played an integral role in the success of this year's record-breaking FIFA World Cup, where On Location staged the largest hospitality program in the tournament's history. Fans from 154 countries purchased more than 600,000 hospitality packages across 104 matches in 16 host cities. The qualitative feedback on our delivery bodes well for the continued growth of On Location, and affirmatively sets the table for what will be a historic LA28 Olympic Games. TKO is poised for monumental growth at a time when consumers are deliberately choosing in-person experiences.

Ari Emanuel
Ari Emanuel
Executive Chair and CEO at TKO Group

Our content can't be manufactured or automated. As the rise of AI inevitably changes how we spend our time, live events built on scarcity, marketable IP, and durable repricing power win out. Physical experiences still command the biggest share of the wallet, and we're one of the very few companies that actually lead in this space, across multiple properties at scale and globally. As we look to the back half of 2026, we're raising our full year guidance with conviction in our businesses stronger than ever. With that, Mark will take you through the quarter.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Thanks, Ari. We've consistently stated that 2026 is a year of execution for TKO. The second quarter confirmed that. From WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas in April, to WWE's Clash in Italy in May, to UFC Freedom 250 in our nation's capital in June, to crowded stadiums around North America for the FIFA World Cup, to IMG's partnership with the EuroLeague Final Four in Athens, TKO has served and captured fans while demonstrating excellence from every corner of the business. There was no bigger headline or spotlight this quarter than UFC Freedom 250 at the White House. The card, the production, the storytelling was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle on the biggest stage possible. Fans turned out and tuned in. The Ellipse Fan Fest was attended by more than 130,000 fans over two days.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

The 7-bout fight card itself reached more than 34 million total viewers in reported markets, including 17 million viewers across the U.S. and Latin America on Paramount+. This goes well beyond a single event. Since the start of the year, 20 million subscriber households have watched more than 200 million hours of UFC programming on Paramount+, delivering viewership more than 23 times the average UFC pay-per-view event over the past two years. That's the strength of the Paramount partnership at work in just six short months, and proof that removing the double paywall was indeed the right decision. TKO Properties' outsized impact on conversation, subscriber acquisition, and retention is undeniable. Beyond the audience numbers, the event generated more than $1 billion in earned media value, the kind of exposure only a handful of events in the world can command.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

It also deepened our commercial relationships, adding 25 new marketing partners to our roster, many signing multi-year or multi-event deals. Andrew will cover the event's financials in more detail, but I can tell you unequivocally that our investment in this event, time, energy, focus, delivered results as designed. While we won't hold another event in the backyard of the White House, we will continue to be bold and creative, on the hunt for new audiences, new venues, and new experiences that make the UFC truly singular. Looking beyond our White House event, UFC sold out arenas and secured financial incentive packages around the globe, including in Perth, Macau, and Newark, New Jersey, where our return to the Prudential Center became the highest-grossing event in arena history. Similarly, in Azerbaijan, our return to Baku drew more than 10,500 fans, with 40% of those fans traveling in from more than 70 countries.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

UFC 329 in Las Vegas last month was also a standout, becoming the highest-grossing event in UFC history. The same June evening that UFC returned to Baku, WWE returned to Riyadh for a successful Night of Champions, drawing a sold-out crowd of more than 18,000 fans. Building on last month's successful return to Abu Dhabi, our remaining events in the Middle East are all systems go as planned for the remainder of 2026. WrestleMania 42 drew more than 106,000 fans and one of the highest all-time gates in WWE history. WWE Backlash sold out in Tampa, Saturday Night's Main Event sold out in Fort Wayne, Indiana, WWE staged a run of successful events across Europe, spanning the U.K., Spain, France, and Portugal, headlined by the aforementioned Clash in Italy, WWE's first-ever premium live event in the country.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Coinciding with our local launch on Netflix, Clash sold out Turin's Inalpi Arena and set the record for the highest-grossing entertainment event ever at that arena. This is a long way of saying that demand for WWE events is insatiable, we're in the position of being at the controls of creating this demand. We have full autonomy over where we bring every event, we can be surgical in our approach to growing our fan base for the long term. Our decision-making is deliberate. SummerSlam is a prime example. Following last year's record two-day event at MetLife Stadium, we decided to take this premium live event to Minneapolis this summer for our first-ever stadium show in the city, backed by a meaningful financial incentive package. The two-day show was extraordinary. The sold-out corresponding WWE Fan Fest delivered strong engagement metrics.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Across TKO, we prioritize both the fan experience and improving profitability. They are not mutually exclusive, they are not always in that order. Which brings me to recent chatter around WWE viewership. On Netflix, WWE Raw was a global top 10 title every single week of the second quarter. Beyond our expansion with Netflix into Italy, we recently launched premium live events with the streamer in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as markets continue to come online. With ESPN in the U.S., WrestleMania Night 1 is the number one program on ESPN2 this year, while Backlash and Clash in Italy both had strong viewership. Meanwhile, SmackDown on USA Network was a top three Friday cable show in the U.S. among adults 18-49 in 9 of 13 weeks in the quarter, with three number one finishes. These numbers tell the real story.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

I would add that TKO properties like UFC, WWE, PBR, and increasingly, Zuffa Boxing are purpose-built for our current social media environment. Social media amplifies our events. Shared highlights and content don't substitute for the event itself. They market the next one. Our financial incentive packages strategy is also gaining meaningful traction. Our properties deliver real economic impact and cultural connection for cities, that value increasingly shows up in the deals we strike with tourism boards, states and local municipalities, and private partners. We're still early, the runway to scale this in more markets and cities across all our properties and for bigger commitments is significant. Our strategy is working, our target of $380 million-$420 million by the year 2030 is on plan.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

To that point, in May, we signed a landmark three-year, seven-event agreement with the Arizona Sports & Events Alliance, spanning UFC, WWE, PBR, and Zuffa Boxing, one of the broadest multi-property financial incentive package deals we've put together to date. Next week, UFC 330 brings the championship bout back to the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, for the first time in 15 years as part of the city's America 250 celebration, another market investing in TKO to drive economic impact. The value of our live events is undeniable, and it's only going to grow from here. As already mentioned, while AI makes content cheaper and easier to produce, what can't be manufactured becomes scarcer and more valuable. That is live, communal events that people crave and organize their calendars to travel to and from. There's no bigger example of that than the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

For On Location, the numbers speak for themselves. World Cup hospitality sales surpassed $2 billion from more than 568,000 packages sold through the second quarter, and that's before counting the 25 matches in July. Demand remained exceptionally strong straight from the group stage through to the final, with significant last-minute purchasing activity across every sales channel. This isn't only a World Cup story. On Location's portfolio of events is seeing similar anticipation and appetite, most notably the LA 2028 Olympics, which, while still two years away, has already generated orders for more than $280 million on over 20,000 bookings. The success of our hospitality and experiential program doesn't merely speak to a trend, but instead what is quickly becoming the norm, front of the line access and the consumer's increasing desire to pay more for a personalized, customized offering.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Meanwhile, the IMG business continues to partner with some of the most iconic sporting events globally. Recently, we drove sponsorship and broadcast coverage for the most watched Wimbledon since 2019 and for the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where IMG produced the live broadcast of every shot seen around the world across 217 territories. The range of this business is a true differentiator, and these invaluable relationships deliver real commercial outcomes that compound over time across the entire TKO portfolio. At PBR, the business had an extraordinary quarter. Our Space Cowboys event at the U.S. Air Force Academy sold out and drew nearly 31,000 fans. It also aired on Fox Nation and was supported by a significant financial incentive package. This was a strong cultural moment as part of America 250th celebration.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

PBR Team Series is currently in full swing, and we are in active discussions with several potential investors for new franchises. Finally, turning to boxing, where we're building international scale and strengthening our roster. Zuffa Boxing staged our first international event in Bournemouth, U.K., activating our new Sky Sports media partnership. Zuffa Boxing also made its New York City debut last week at Madison Square Garden's Infosys Theater. We are signing world-class talent, most notably Shakur Stevenson, one of the biggest names in American boxing. On September 12th, we will return with TKO's next super fight featuring Ryan Garcia versus Conor Benn at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, airing on Paramount+ globally and on DAZN in the U.K. and Ireland. The growth of this asset is comfortably ahead of schedule. Altogether, the second quarter was another period of disciplined, high-quality execution.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Sports has become the anchor of premium media, commanding unrivaled live audiences and cultural relevance. TKO offers leverage to secular growth in live sports and entertainment. In many ways, TKO has defensive business model characteristics to AI disruption risk. Demand for live entertainment shows no signs of slowing, and owners of differentiated IP that offer differentiated live experiences, like TKO does, will be first in line to benefit. Our strategy is tight and fit for the time. Demand for live events and premium IP in the experience economy, growth in global partnerships, significant step-ups from our media deals delivering high-margin returns, momentum in financial incentive packages, over 70% of long-term contracted revenue at UFC and WWE providing visibility and predictability. The development of Zuffa Boxing as our next significant combat sports asset, On Location's Total Beatdown victory lap with the World Cup hospitality program.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Not to mention the fact that the stage is well set for the L.A. Olympic Games. These are the catalysts for TKO. I turn it over to Andrew, who will review our second quarter financial results. I would be remiss not to reiterate our commitment of returning capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The recent volatility in trading levels of our stock, we intend to commence an additional buyback in the near term, as previously authorized by the board. With that, Andrew.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Good afternoon. We delivered strong operating and financial results across our businesses in Q2, and we continued to execute at the highest levels on the world's biggest stages. Our performance to date and our visibility into the remainder of the year, we have raised our full-year outlook. Before getting into the numbers, I want to remind you of two items that had an impact on results this quarter, specifically UFC Freedom 250 and the FIFA World Cup. First, with regards to UFC Freedom 250, we incurred significantly higher than normal costs, which we partially offset with sold-out global partnerships inventory. A reminder, we did not sell tickets and therefore did not record any live events revenue. The event's financial profile, which as anticipated, resulted in approximately a $30 million loss, our margins at UFC, as well as on a consolidated basis, were meaningfully impacted.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Second, revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the FIFA World Cup are recognized based on the volume of matches delivered, and as such, will benefit both Q2 and Q3. In the second quarter, we recorded approximately $45 million of adjusted EBITDA at the IMG segment. Given the scale and complexity of this event, we're still in the process of closing out our books to determine the final financial results, but we now expect to exceed our estimate of approximately $75 million in adjusted EBITDA for the full year. Moving to our consolidated results for the second quarter, we generated revenue of $1.547 billion and adjusted EBITDA was $650 million. Our adjusted EBITDA margin was 42%. Revenue increased 18%, adjusted EBITDA increased 23%, and adjusted EBITDA margin increased approximately 180 basis points as compared to the prior year.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Removing the impact of UFC Freedom 250, we would have seen significantly higher total company margin expansion. In the quarter, UFC generated revenue of $536 million, an increase of 29% or $120 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $280 million, an increase of 15% or $36 million. UFC's adjusted EBITDA margin was 52%, down from 59% in the prior year period. Removing the impact of UFC Freedom 250, UFC margins would have increased meaningfully year-over-year. As previewed on our last call, UFC's event mix had a notable impact on Q2 results. UFC held 12 total events in the period, two numbered events and nine fight nights, plus UFC Freedom 250, compared to 11 total events in the prior period, comprised of four numbered events and seven fight nights.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Media rights production and content revenue increased 25% to $325 million, driven by a step-up in media rights fees related to the Paramount deal that began in January, and would have been even higher if it were not for the fact we held one fewer numbered event compared to two additional fight nights, which had an unfavorable net impact in the quarter. Partnerships and marketing revenue increased 69% to $145 million, driven by the addition of new partners and higher renewals from existing partners, largely related to UFC Freedom 250. We successfully leveraged this unique event to strengthen our relationships with existing partners, including Ram and Crypto.com, and create a point of entry for new categories and partners, including Exodus, Anduril, Supersure, and Starlink. Consumer products licensing was a bright spot, with revenue increasing 61% to $18 million.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

We're seeing improved royalties from our main licensees, a direct correlation to the strength of the UFC brand. We also released EA Sports UFC 6 on June 19th, delivering by far our strongest launch in franchise history across all financial and engagement metrics. As expected, live events and hospitality revenue decreased 18% to $48 million due to the mix of events and venues, most notably the absence of ticket sales for UFC Freedom 250 and one fewer numbered event. Despite the decline in the quarter, we continue to see strong demand for our recent events, including record gates for both UFC 328 at the Prudential Center in Newark and UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. With respect to financial incentive packages, we are successfully executing on our strategy.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

We are leaning in and laser-focused on generating more value for our brands from a mix of public and private funding sources, domestically and abroad. The economic growth, community connection, and global attention we deliver for our partners, combined with the range of UFC, WWE, PBR, and Zuffa Boxing events and offerings across our portfolio, is fueling a significant increase in inbound interest, driving higher renewal rates and forging new relationships in more markets. We're pairing that inbound demand with a targeted outbound effort Leveraging our reach and relationships as well as IMG and On Location's global networks to open doors in key growth markets. In the days leading up to UFC Freedom 250, we met with dozens of existing and new contacts in Washington, D.C., a clear example of how our access and the attractiveness of our events can translate into opportunity.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

At UFC, financial incentive packages almost doubled year-over-year. We returned to Newark and Baku, two locations with FIPs in the prior year quarter, where we were able to increase revenue for 2026. UFC 327 was the first time we received a significant FIP in connection with an event in Miami. Our fight night event in Macau was the first under a new multi-event relationship that includes a meaningful FIP. Our event in Perth included a package under a multi-year agreement. Adjusted EBITDA reflected the increase in revenue, partially offset by an increase in expenses. Direct operating expenses primarily reflected an increase in athlete, production, and other event-related costs, most notably driven by UFC Freedom 250. SG&A increased primarily due to higher personnel and travel costs compared to the prior period.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Our WWE segment generated revenue of $621 million in the quarter, an increase of 12% or $65 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $368 million, an increase of 12% or $39 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 59%, on par with the prior year period. As with UFC, WWE's event mix impacted results in Q2. We held 22 international events in the period, including a European tour and The Clash in Italy, Pala Alpitour Turin, compared to two international events in the prior year period. Going into the year, we scheduled additional international events overall and staged significantly more in Q2 as part of a strategy to deepen and broaden our global fan base, grow international partnerships revenue that has historically lagged our domestic events, and strengthen our pipeline of financial incentive packages outside the U.S. On partnerships, we believe there's immediate opportunity to grow WWE's international portfolio.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

The next leg up will be a function of, amongst other things, us leaning in further with Netflix, where all our content sits internationally, leveraging our collective expertise, inventory, and relationships to maximize value from fully integrated broadcast and in-venue packages. We are opening doors for each other, and with the support of IMG's global network, expanding our pipeline of prospective partners around the world. Although international events currently come with a higher cost profile, we view that spend as a strategic investment with attractive long-term potential. Media rights production and content revenue increased 29% to $360 million, primarily reflecting higher media rights fees related to the ESPN agreement that began last September. Consumer products licensing and other revenue increased 38% to $46 million, driven by higher royalties for trading cards and other collectibles compared to the prior year period.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

While a relatively modest portion of our overall business, we continue to make progress in this growing area at both UFC and WWE, in no small part due to our recent multi-property deal with Fanatics. Partnerships and marketing revenue increased 8% to $63 million, driven by new partnerships and renewals across multiple categories. The most notable driver of these results, WrestleMania 42, featured a record 32 partners, including Snickers, 2K, Riyadh Season, Ram, and DoorDash, among others. As we saw in Q1, this growth came despite the additional international events. Live events and hospitality revenue decreased 18% to $152 million, almost exclusively related to a decrease in ticket sales for WrestleMania 42 compared to the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA reflected the increase in revenue, partially offset by an increase in expenses.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Direct operating expenses increased primarily due to higher talent, production, and other event-related costs, and SG&A increased primarily due to higher travel costs. Both of these increases were a result of the additional international events. Despite the incremental spend, we expect WWE margins will increase meaningfully for the full year. Shifting now to our IMG segment. We generated revenue of $355 million, an increase of 16% or $48 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $79 million, an increase of 171% or $50 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 22%, up from 9% in the prior year period. As we previewed on our last call, the increase in revenue primarily related to the favorable impact of FIFA World Cup hospitality sales at On Location. Revenue at the IMG business decreased slightly over the prior year period due to the expiration of certain deals, most notably a contract for Italy's premier professional cycling event.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

The decrease was partially offset by increased demand for Stars on Ice, the touring figure skating show, which benefited from heightened consumer enthusiasm coming off the Milano Cortina Olympics and growth in Sport24, our owned live sports channel for airlines and cruise ships. Adjusted EBITDA primarily reflected the increase in revenue as expenses were essentially flat compared to the prior year. Corporate and other generated revenue of $49 million, an increase of 9%. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $77 million, essentially flat with the prior year period. The increase in revenue was primarily driven by higher management fees related to our boxing initiatives, as well as higher live events and partnerships revenue at PBR, driven by our PBR Space Cowboys event held at the U.S. Air Force Academy, which included a sizable FIP.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Adjusted EBITDA reflected the increase in revenue offset by an increase in expenses, primarily due to higher personnel and other operating costs. Now moving on to our capital structure. In the second quarter, we generated $350 million of free cash flow. Our free cash flow conversion of adjusted EBITDA was 54%. Free cash flow included the favorable impact of $22 million of net collections related to On Location for the FIFA World Cup. Free cash flow also included the unfavorable working capital impact of UFC's new media rights deal with Paramount. Turning to capital allocation. As Mark noted, maintaining a robust and sustained capital return program remains a top priority. Year to date, we've returned in excess of $1.3 billion of capital to equity holders through our dividends and share repurchases.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

On June 30th, we made our Q2 cash dividend payment from TKO OpCo of approximately $150 million or $0.79 per share. We intend to continue to fund quarterly cash dividends with cash flow from operations or cash on hand. Regarding share repurchases, as we previously disclosed, on June 30th, we completed our most recent ASR agreement to repurchase $800 million or approximately 4.2 million shares of our Class A common stock. In May, we commenced repurchases under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan for up to $200 million of our Class A common stock. We completed the program in July, and in the aggregate, we purchased an additional 1 million shares under the plan. Currently, we have just over $1 billion available under our previously authorized repurchase program. As disclosed in our earnings release, we intend to commence additional buybacks under our existing program in the near future.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Given the strength of our balance sheet and what we believe to be a dislocation in our stock price relative to its intrinsic value, we continue to view this as a highly value accretive opportunity. We ended the quarter with $4.659 billion in debt and $593 million in cash and cash equivalents, in addition to $960 million of restricted cash. As of the end of Q2, net leverage was 2.2 times based on net debt of $4.067 billion and LTM adjusted EBITDA of $1.841 billion. Turning to our outlook. As you've heard us say on prior earnings calls, we manage the business with a focus on full year performance.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

We believe the results are best evaluated on a full year basis, given the quarterly fluctuations that are inherent in our operations, most notably related to the timing of our live events and the mix of locations, venues, and cards. As announced in our press release, we are raising our full year 2026 guidance for revenue and adjusted EBITDA. We are now targeting revenue of $5.775 billion-$5.825 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $2.275 billion-$2.305 billion, representing an increase of $75 million and $25 million respectively at the midpoint of the ranges as compared to the prior guidance issued in February. The increase is based on strong operating performance across our businesses for the first six months of the year and our anticipated performance for the remainder of the year.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Regarding our event calendar and cadence, we continue to closely monitor developments in and around the Middle East with regard to potential implications on our business. Year to date, we've successfully staged every event we originally planned, including two events on June 27th, WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, and a UFC fight night in Azerbaijan, as well as a UFC fight night in Abu Dhabi just nine days ago on July 25th. As Mark noted, we're moving forward with our remaining events in the region, including a WWE PLE and a UFC numbered event. With respect to UFC, the Paramount era has allowed us to level set and benchmark our athlete pay without diluting our margins.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Having said that, our business catalysts, media rights, global partnerships, live events and FIPs, and consumer products licensing, all significantly high growth, high margin contributing verticals, have and will enable us to absorb the incremental costs while still meaningfully enhancing our margin profile in 2026 and beyond. Consistent with our prior calls, while we are not providing quarterly guidance, we want to highlight a few notable items as we look to the third quarter. At UFC, media rights revenue will continue to reflect the step-up from the Paramount rights deal. The mix of live events in the quarter will also favorably impact results. We expect to stage 12 events in Q3 2026, three numbered events and nine fight nights. This compares to 10 events in the prior period, which included two numbered events and eight fight nights.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

With respect to FIPs, the fight night held in Abu Dhabi carried a meaningful incentive package, as did a similar event we hosted in the market in Q3 of last year. The fight night held this past weekend in Belgrade and UFC 330, which will take place in Philadelphia on August 15th, also carries significant FIPs. At WWE, the timing of live events in the quarter will negatively impact our results. Q3 has one premium live event, SummerSlam, compared to four in the prior period. Media rights will continue to reflect the step-up from the ESPN rights deal, but the decrease in total nights of PLE programming will impact results. Live events and partnerships revenue will also reflect the decrease in events, as will production costs and other event-related expenses.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

At the IMG segment, we expect results will reflect the continued benefit of On Location's World Cup hospitality program, as well as the positive impact of a number of IMG's signature tennis and golf events, including the US Open, Wimbledon, and the British Open. These benefits will be partially offset by continued spend in support of our ongoing sales efforts for LA 2028. At corporate and other, we expect our results to reflect the contribution from the Garcia-Benn boxing match on September 12th. As a reminder, we provided services for the Canelo-Crawford match in the prior year period, so we expect the impact of our boxing initiatives to be relatively comparable.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

In terms of free cash flow, while we have not given formal guidance, we continue to target a free cash flow conversion rate in excess of 60%, normalizing for the impact of net payments related to the World Cup and UFC's rights deal with Paramount. In conclusion, we generated strong results in the first half of the year, underscoring the momentum across our businesses. As we turn to the second half , we remain focused on disciplined execution and continuing our robust capital return program. Our confidence in the path ahead is grounded in the fundamentals of this business. World-class IP, deeply engaged global audiences, diverse and recurring revenue streams, and significant runway for growth. With that, I'll turn it back to Seth.

Seth Zaslow
Seth Zaslow
Head of Investor Relations at TKO Group

Thanks, Andrew. Operator, we're ready to open the call for questions.

Operator

We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Brandon Ross with LightShed. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Brandon Ross
Partner and Media and Technology Analyst at LightShed

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking the questions. I'd hate to lead off talking about other companies. There's a few things that have seemed to pop into investor focus recently. On the first one, PFL hasn't really materialized into any kind of threat following the hoopla around the Saudi investment a few years ago. Now they're joining with Jake Paul and MVP, and I guess the relationship they have with Netflix. How do you believe that combo can impact your business, and how seriously do you take them as a competitor?

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Thanks, Brandon. Look, I would say that clearly on an individual standalone basis, these promotions, both MVP and PFL, were not necessarily sustainable. Now they've come together. We'll see what they can conjure up. What we know is that competition's always made us stronger. A rising tide lifts all boats.

Brandon Ross
Partner and Media and Technology Analyst at LightShed

Okay. I know you keep saying it, 2026 has been the year of execution for you. You've continuously pointed out you don't anticipate any major M&A. Potential deals like a combo with Formula 1 have come into investor dialogue once again and probably impacted both your stock prices. Are you open to bigger M&A as you turn the page to 2027, or do investors just have this wrong?

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Look, as we said in our prepared remarks, as we've said quarter after quarter, as you just said, we are 100% focused on execution. If we continue doing just that effectively, TKO will remain a beat and raise story. We are not hunting for M&A of any kind. There are absolutely no conversations with F1, anybody else for that matter. There's absolutely nothing on the horizon that would take our eye off the ball from our execution story. Anyone spreading that is just flat out lying. Anyone speculating that is just flat out seeing ghosts.

Brandon Ross
Partner and Media and Technology Analyst at LightShed

Perfect. Thank you for your candor.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Always.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Stephen Laszczyk with Goldman Sachs. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Stephen Laszczyk
Stephen Laszczyk
Vice President at Goldman Sachs

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking the questions. Mark, you spoke a lot to the strong engagement trends you saw in the quarter from the UFC and WWE. I would be curious if you'd speak a little bit more looking ahead to how you keep engagement growing from here, how you're thinking about things like balancing international engagement versus protecting the engagement in your core markets. Ultimately, where, if anywhere, across the league do you think there might be an opportunity to make investments to realize some of these engagement goals?

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Yeah. Look, Stephen, I would just tell you that we are as focused on engagement as we are on reach. That's the name of the game. That is the equation, if you will. Right? The catalyst for our company, as Andrew and I both laid out, are simple. They're identifiable. They're easier to model than most. There are no hidden recipes when it comes to TKO. We're about event ticket sales and optimization. We've got a strong guide on global partnerships, $1.2 billion by 2030. We've got a strong guide on financial incentive packages, $380 million-$420 million by 2030. Both of those are on good, solid ground with some strong secular tailwinds behind them. Our media deals are locked in at approximately $15 billion of aggregate value for the next five to seven years.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Our next major combat sports asset, Zuffa Boxing, is not just underway, it's ahead of plan. I'm sure you're reading each and every day about different fighters that are signing up under the Zuffa Boxing banner. We're prudent when it comes to M&A, as you just heard me say, there's nothing on the horizon, we're not hunting for anything. We're highly cash flow generative, and we have a management team and a board that's laser focused on returning capital to shareholders. When you're focusing on the business at hand, you are constantly looking at how you improve the overall fan experience, how you best position your brand for domestic and international growth, to your point. You focus on audience growth and how you bring more people under the tent with singular, big, eye-catching events that generate significant conversation.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

At the same time, you also look at what's best from an investment standpoint for our shareholders. That's what we do. I would tell you that we believe our value proposition is second to none. If we keep doing our jobs right, that pendulum's going to swing a little bit, whereby let's take SummerSlam as an example this past weekend in Minneapolis, I know it's not in the quarter, but I think it's an apropos point here. Look, we could have done SummerSlam on one night and likely had a higher ticket per cap. But in looking at that event, we chose two days because we thought it would be an overall better fan experience. We thought it would be a better viewing experience on ESPN. We thought we would get more marketing for our brand on ESPN.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

We thought it was important to go back to the Midwest, that outside of Elimination Chamber last year in Chicago, we really haven't been doing enough of our PLEs in the Midwest. As I said in my prepared remarks, it's not always about the actual bottom line, right? We prioritize the fan experience and improving profitability. They're not mutually exclusive, and they're not always in that order. If we get the equation right, we're growing globally, which is certainly important to us and to Netflix, if we get that right, we're driving viewership and global partnerships and financial incentive packages here domestically at home.

Stephen Laszczyk
Stephen Laszczyk
Vice President at Goldman Sachs

Thanks for that. If I could, just on the guidance increase for Andrew, I'd be curious if there was any more detail you could provide around the drivers of that increase. It sounds like the World Cup performed better than expected so far in the second quarter. As you look out, any other parts of the business that are either performing better or worse than expected?

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Yeah, look, I think the increase is not necessarily a result of any one specific item. I don't want to over-index on the World Cup, even though we had a strong contribution in Q2. Obviously, there'll be Q3 contribution, and it'll be above our prior announced expectations for the World Cup. It really reflects the overall strength in our business, especially UFC, which is firing on all cylinders now, and a number of moving pieces. Nothing in particular to call out, but I do want to make sure that it's not an over-index on World Cup.

Stephen Laszczyk
Stephen Laszczyk
Vice President at Goldman Sachs

Great. Thank you both.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Stephen, I would also just add, On Location is such an, just like IMG, such an important part of the overall life cycle we have here in the equation. We talked about it in the prepared remarks. You're just seeing so many more personalized experiences, customized experiences, front-of-the-line access, parents wanting it for their kids, individuals wanting to go out with their friends. These communal events, experiencing them in different unique ways. While that margin, although we benefited from it this quarter, isn't up to speed or up to snuff with where WWE or UFC sits, it's still such an important element for the growth of those two leagues, let alone as a standalone business in On Location itself.

Stephen Laszczyk
Stephen Laszczyk
Vice President at Goldman Sachs

Helpful. Thank you very much.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of David Karnovsky with JPMorgan. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

David Karnovsky
David Karnovsky
Senior Research Analyst at JPMorgan

Hey, thank you. Mark, it'd be great to get your latest read on the sports rights landscape. I know you're interest cycle, but there's a lot in the pipeline from now until two years out when you might bring SmackDown or NXT to the market. Just how are you thinking about things, and is there any optionality on your end to accelerate discussions?

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

We have no plans to accelerate any conversations on our end. We believe we're very well-positioned with long-term deals, recurring revenue, locked-in escalators, and very motivated marketing partners. We're grateful to be there and we're, of course, paying attention to all that's on the horizon, whether that's World Cup or Major League Soccer or the NFL, obviously the NHL. There's a lot in the queue, and we will.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

We are kind of there to support and drive as it relates to the IMG business. They're seeing that business quite frothy at the moment. I think it does come back to the fact that sports are just in a category all to itself right now. It truly is. Live experiences, unpredictable outcomes, passionate fan bases, historically strong, passionate fan bases, and terrific engagement, even in games that aren't always so close. Once again, the World Cup was front and center demonstrating all of that. Just an unqualified success for FIFA. Obviously, we played a small part in that with On Location. I think the Women's World Cup is going to be just as strong from an attention-setting standpoint.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

We're sitting in a good place right now across all fronts, Zuffa Boxing and PBR included, and we will continue to drive the market as it relates to our leadership position globally with IMG.

David Karnovsky
David Karnovsky
Senior Research Analyst at JPMorgan

Then maybe just one on WWE International. You noted scheduling more tours there, the opportunity with events and sponsorships, especially as Netflix rolls to more regions. I guess, Andrew called out some offsets, though, with costs and domestic sponsorship. Maybe can you just speak a bit about the opportunity and how you consider the mix of factors?

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Look, we're a global brand, we're not going to shy away of bringing our product internationally because it doesn't have the most accretive near-term financial impact. We're going to make investments for the long term. In doing so, we're going to take our properties, whether it be UFC, WWE, PBR, or any IP in our portfolio, to strategic locations to set and position ourselves up for long-term growth. Look, as it relates to partnerships at WWE, we do believe, as I said, there is a leg up opportunity internationally as we get deeper with Netflix, who as you know, has a license to all of our content internationally, where they have media and they're rolling out dynamic ad insertion, but also value sort of coveted in-venue, and in-arena inventory.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Our ability to go to market together, us opening up our Rolodex, them opening up their Rolodex, that doesn't happen overnight. It's certainly something that we're bullish about later this year into 2027.

David Karnovsky
David Karnovsky
Senior Research Analyst at JPMorgan

Thank you.

Operator

Your next call comes from the line of Ryan Gravett with UBS. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Ryan Gravett
Ryan Gravett
Equity Research Analyst at UBS

Great. Hey, guys. Andrew, appreciate the detail on the EBITDA impact from the Freedom 250 event this quarter. Curious how you see the opportunity on translating some of the one-time uplift you saw on the partnership revenue side in the quarter into broader and more comprehensive deals going forward. Not looking for guidance at this point, but is there anything you would flag to us on free cash flow conversion in 2027, particularly as it relates to On Location or the UFC rights deals? Thanks.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Look, on UFC Freedom 250, I will reiterate we came in exactly as anticipated or close enough for government work, with a loss of approximately $30 million. We've held true to what that level of overall loss/investment was going to be. Hats off to our global partnerships team who utilized this one-of-one event as an entry point for new partners to level up existing partners and to introduce folks to the power of our IP and what we can do from an execution perspective. There are a significant amount of new partners that impact not only 2026. We did do, I think Mark alluded to in his prepared remarks, as did I, meaningful multi-year deals. This wasn't just buy UFC Freedom 250 and get the spectacle.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

We did use this to leverage this event and its value to sign up partners that impact 2026, 2027, and in some cases 2028 and beyond. We feel real good about our positioning going into next year. As it relates to free cash flow conversion, I'll say at this point in time, we don't give forward-year guidance. We do anticipate being in excess of 60% on a normalized basis for those normalizing factors I called out in my prepared remarks. We do believe there's meaningful room for a step-up in free cash flow conversion in 2027 and 2028 and beyond.

Ryan Gravett
Ryan Gravett
Equity Research Analyst at UBS

Great. Thank you.

Operator

Your next call comes from the line of Brent Navin with Bank of America. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Brent Navin
Brent Navin
Analyst at Bank of America

Thank you. Just wanted to go to WWE live events. It seems like this quarter was impacted by WrestleMania in particular. Can you just help maybe distinguish or quantify the factors that were specific to this year's event versus what you're seeing in the broader live events business? Does this outcome possibly make you reevaluate elements of your live event strategy going forward?

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

WWE live events, again, was almost exclusively impacted, as I stated in my prepared remarks, by WrestleMania 42 versus WrestleMania 41. We did, however, in the quarter as well, stage more events, more international events as well, 22 versus two in the prior year quarter. Again, this is an investment, as I articulated in the last answer, in WWE and broadening and growing its fan base. This is deliberate, just like going back to Vegas for a second year for WrestleMania was deliberate. WrestleMania's live event revenue for 2026, despite being lower than 2025, was still one of the largest box offices in the history of WWE. We earned a meaningful financial incentive package to go back to the state of Nevada. Those economics are comparable to the prior year, or lesser to the prior year, but still extraordinarily beneficial to the company.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Look, we increasingly view our events not just as live events, but as media events that drive viewership and fan engagement across social and help us monetize our most valuable assets. As long as we believe going to a certain location is going to check those boxes, we're going to make those strategic investments in the long term.

Brent Navin
Brent Navin
Analyst at Bank of America

Thank you. Just maybe as a follow-up, it seems like historically some of your highest profile events, whether Freedom 250, the Sphere event a few years ago, or even bringing back Conor, you have generated a lot of interest and engagement around the UFC product. Why not be more aggressive in investing behind these tent-pole events if it drives that audience growth engagement and ultimately longer-term value and possibly even expanding that to the WWE ecosystem as well?

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Look, I think you heard us say in the prepared comments that we will be hunting for new opportunities, unique experiences, seminal venues in various regions of the world that help us garner that same kind of buzz and attention. It's not that we're not doing it's that they take a while to put together, and there's a lot of parties and negotiations and calendars and dates and venue deals. Not to mention clients from all walks, meaning global partners versus obviously the platforms in which we air. There's a lot of factors that go into putting the calendar together. Yes, I would remind you that when we did the Sphere, everyone was afraid that this once in a lifetime spectacle was going to be a financial loser for us. It wasn't.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

When we did UFC Freedom 250, despite telling everyone we were going to lose $30 million and do record-setting numbers in terms of earned media, nonetheless, I kept reading about the fact that, "Oh, they're probably going to lose more than they say," and we didn't. Conor was just a 329. That's just a numbered event. That wasn't anything different from what we do week to week, albeit that he hadn't fought in such a long time, so there was great demand in having a chance to see him come back to the stage. Look, we say what we mean and we mean what we say, and we are in the business of putting on the best of the best live events and experiences.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

We're sitting in a marketplace that whether it's FIFA World Cup or Bruno Mars back on tour or Odyssey or Spider-Man, experiences show no sign of slowing down. It's a permanent way of the world, and TKO today sits front and center with WWE, UFC, PBR, and On Location. We will continue to take those secular tailwinds and milk them for everything they are.

Brent Navin
Brent Navin
Analyst at Bank of America

Thank you.

Seth Zaslow
Seth Zaslow
Head of Investor Relations at TKO Group

Operator, let's take one last question, please.

Operator

Your final question comes from the line of Vikram Kesavabhotla with Baird. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Vikram Kesavabhotla
Vikram Kesavabhotla
Senior Research Analyst at Baird

Yeah. Hey, thanks for taking the question. I wanted to ask about Zuffa Boxing. You mentioned in your remarks that the progress has been comfortably ahead of your schedule. As we look ahead, can you talk about your biggest priorities for this business throughout the rest of this year and what we should be looking for in monitoring your progress? You also referenced the recent events in the U.K. and New York City. What has the initial reception been like as you've started to expand outside of Nevada, and how do you plan to manage the mix of locations for that going forward? Thanks.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

I would tell you that Andrew can remind everybody of the financial arrangement we have with the JV in just a second. Overall, it's a lot of rinse and repeat in terms of what we're doing with our other assets and properties across TKO, right? We're taking it out to London and New York City because we're efforting to bring more awareness to what it is that we've launched, namely the fighters. We're on the hunt to create more one-of-a-kind experiences that also feel the added benefit of bringing in more global partnerships, more marketing from our current media partner, more financial incentive packages that we can tie into multi-event, meaning multi-property type deals with various cities and regions. Of course, ultimately that will trigger consumer products and licensing as Zuffa Boxing grows. Look, it's early days. Right now it's about signing up

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

More fighters, expanding our dugout, creating more opportunities and incentives for the fighters themselves, and staging best-in-class fights and best-in-class fight cards. If that continues to garner traction and momentum in the way that it has, in such an accelerated way, we'll be well on our way to creating that next massive combat sports asset for TKO and our shareholders. Financially, of course, it's already a winning proposition for both the fighters and also the business. Of course, we don't consolidate. I'll actually ask Andrew Schleimer to remind everybody of the JV that we have.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

I accept. Vic, you've heard us say this on numerous calls. We like the structure of the JV. We take calculated and intelligent risks. This is low risk, but allows us to have our fingerprints on a third combat sport vertical, with a path for meaningful equity ownership that will ultimately enhance our firm value. We're here to build something, but we have no funding obligations, and we don't take financial risk. It's really opportunity cost of time and materials. What you see so far is a product that's ahead of schedule, and that energy and focus is paying off. As I said, the JV allows us to earn equity ownership and, I can't stress this enough, participate in future value creation. That's the JV.

Andrew Schleimer
Andrew Schleimer
CFO at TKO Group

Somewhat tethered and associated to the JV is our ability to participate in, stage, work with, promote, sell the media rights for super fights, which we get paid a fee, depending upon the level of services that we ultimately provide. That is implicit in our guide. You hear Mark Shapiro talk about the Garcia-Benn event that's happening on the 12th of September, and other events that we're associated with that would get a fee that appears in our corporate line item outside of the non-consolidating joint venture. A lot of ways to win here, but it's early days.

Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
President and COO at TKO Group

Our reputation is that we know how to stage big events. We know how to build properties and assets like this. We know how to create attention and set the stage for these fighters. Dana White has a reputation of always putting fighters and fans first. One of the reasons our plan has accelerated the way it has is because fighters want to fight underneath a business being run by Dana White.

Vikram Kesavabhotla
Vikram Kesavabhotla
Senior Research Analyst at Baird

Okay, thanks everyone.

Seth Zaslow
Seth Zaslow
Head of Investor Relations at TKO Group

At this time, thank you everyone for joining us on today's call. Operator, you can conclude the call.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

Executives
Analysts
    • Brandon Ross
      Partner and Media and Technology Analyst at LightShed
    • Stephen Laszczyk
      Vice President at Goldman Sachs
    • David Karnovsky
      Senior Research Analyst at JPMorgan
    • Ryan Gravett
      Equity Research Analyst at UBS
    • Brent Navin
      Analyst at Bank of America
    • Vikram Kesavabhotla
      Senior Research Analyst at Baird
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