TKO Group Knocks Out WrestleMania Event Record

Key Points

• Endeavor owns 51% of TKO Group, which operates the two dominant combat and sports entertainment organizations: UFC and WWE.
• WrestleMania 40 broke attendance, merchandise, viewership and social media records.
• Endeavor has agreed to let Silver Lake Management acquire the company, but TKO Group will remain a free-standing public company.

TKO Group Holdings Inc. NYSE: TKO is a sports and entertainment company that was formed through a merger between World Wrestling Entertainment NYSE: WWE and Zuffa, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). TKO Group is a subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. NYSE: EDR.

The consumer discretionary sector company merged the two most dominating entertainment organizations in the mixed martial arts (MMA) and professional wrestling industry. The WWE hosted its annual WrestleMania 40 over two nights starting on April 6, 2024, and destroyed its previous record as the most successful event in its history.

WrestleMania: The Super Bowl of Professional Wrestling

Like the Super Bowl held at the end of each NFL football season, WrestleMania was created as a once-a-year event featuring the top stars in the WWE. The alleged scandals coming to light regarding WWE founder Vince McMahon had investors questioning whether the bad publicity would blemish the event.

However, the worries were unfounded as WrestleMania 40 shattered many records. WWE brought back prior top stars, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and featured second-generation pro wrestler, Cody Rhoades, winning the heavyweight championship from Roman Reigns on the night two main event on April 7, 2024.

Daily Cup Pattern 

The daily candlestick chart on TKO illustrates a cup pattern. The cup lip line formed at $102.04 on Sept. 21, 2024. TKO proceeded to sell off to a low of $72.33 by Dec. 11, 2023. Shares managed to form a rounding bottom and grind back up towards the cup line, reaching $99.40 as the daily relative strength index (RSI) floats up to the 80-band. Pullback support levels are at $93.49, $88.58, $82.47 and $79.14.

Breaking So Many Records

WrestleMania 40 broke many records. It crushed its previous attendance record with 145,298 attendees over the two-night event. Viewership surged 41% YOY, driving up merchandise sales by 20% YOY to new record levels. WrestleMania featured its first-ever ring mat sponsorship featuring PRIME Hydration. Its fan event was also the highest-attended and grossing fan event in history. Over 660 million views occurred and over 67 million views on WWE's YouTube channel in 24 hours.

The Monday Night RAW event following WrestleMania also drew the largest gate in history as post-WrestleMania storylines continued into the episode. The NXT Stand & Deliver event was the highest-attended event in NXT history, with 16,545 attendees.

Endeavor Acquisition

In 2016, Endeavor acquired the UFC for $4 billion. In 2023, Endeavor spun off the UFC to merge with the WWE in a $21 billion deal to form TKO Group, with Endeavor retaining 51% ownership in TKO. On April 2, 2024, Endeavor agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Silver Lake Management for $13 billion. 

Silver Lake already had a 71% stake in Endeavor, and under the deal, Silver Lake will acquire the remaining shares for $27.50 in cash per share. TKO Group will remain a standalone, publicly traded company. The deal is expected to close by Q1 2025.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said, "We believe this transaction will maximize value for all of Endeavor's public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company."

A Much Needed Shot to the Arm?

After a disappointing Q4 2023, the big WrestleMania success could be a nice shot in the arm for TKO Group. On Feb. 27, 2024, the company reported a loss of 16 cents for Q4 2023. Revenues surged 126% YOY to $614 million but still fell shy of the consensus estimates of $623.29 million. The company also issued downside guidance for full-year 2024 with revenues of $2.575 billion to $2.650 billion versus $2.79 billion consensus analyst estimates.

TKO Group analyst ratings and price targets are at MarketBeat.