WWE News: WWE announces revenue of $304.6 million for third quarter of 2022, shows commendable year-on-year rise

WWE News: WWE Revenue for third quarter 2022: This year was a tough time for WWE with Vince McMahon stepping down as the CEO of the company. But able people like Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and Nick Khan stepped up during the time of concern and have brought a whole new angle to the promotion’s creative. The Game, leading from the front, has taken full control of the creative and has brought back many superstars who did not get the chance to show their full potential under the former boss. The 14-time world champion’s style of heading WWE has also sparked interest among many superstars from other promotions to jump ships to WWE.

Follow WWE Crown Jewel Live 2022 Updates with InsideSport.IN

WWE has now released its financial results for the third quarter of 2022 on its official website. The report shows revenue at $304.6 million, a year-on-year rise of 19%. Below are the highlights as stated on the website:

Third Quarter 2022 Highlights from WWE:

Revenue was $304.6 million, an increase of 19%; Operating Income was $58.9 million, a decrease of 8%; and Adjusted OIBDA was $91.2 million, an increase of 17%

Returned $9.1 million of capital to shareholders through dividends paid

Clash at the Castle, the first major WWE stadium event in the UK in over 30 years, was held at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Clash at the Castle was the most viewed international event in WWE’s history

Each WWE domestic premium live event (Money in the Bank, SummerSlam and Extreme Rules) was the most viewed event in its history with year-over-year increases of 17%, 20% and 36%, respectively, in domestic unique viewership on Peacock

WWE announced a multi-year agreement with its long-standing partner, the Foxtel Group, to expand the distribution of the Company’s content in Australia

WWE announced the creation of NXT Europe, which is planned to launch in 2023, to expand the NXT brand internationally

In October, WWE announced its “Campus Rush” recruitment tour to further enhance the Company’s talent development program

WWE Live returned to Mexico for two incredible nights!

📸 https://t.co/n42rDiKHLn pic.twitter.com/EFOGRtxAmq

— WWE (@WWE) November 3, 2022

WWE News: A look at the consolidated results for the thrid quarter of 2022 for WWE

Along with the highlights WWE also gave us an overview of the results on its official site.

Third-Quarter Consolidated Results

Revenue increased 19% to $304.6 million, primarily due to an increase in core content rights fees for the Company’s flagship programs, Raw and SmackDown, and the monetization of third-party original programming. To a lesser extent, higher consumer product licensing revenue and international ticket sales also contributed to the increase in revenue.

Operating Income decreased 8%, or $5.1 million, to $58.9 million, as the increase in revenue was offset by an increase in operating expenses. The increase in operating expenses was primarily driven by higher costs to support the creation of content as well as the impact of certain costs related to the Special Committee investigation. (See the “Special Committee Investigation” discussion for further details.) The Company’s operating income margin decreased to 19% from 25%.

Adjusted OIBDA (which excludes stock-based compensation and other items included in operating income) increased 17%, or $13.3 million, to $91.2 million. The Company’s Adjusted OIBDA margin remained flat at 30%.

Net Income was $41.7 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, a slight decline from $43.5 million, or $0.52 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2021, primarily reflecting the decrease in operating performance.

Cash flows generated by operating activities were $54.5 million, a slight decline from $56.9 million, primarily due to lower net income and higher working capital requirements.

Free Cash Flow³ was $3.5 million, a decrease from $44.8 million, primarily due to an increase in capital expenditures. For the three months ended September 30, 2022, the Company incurred $42.3 million of capital expenditures related to its new headquarter facility. Excluding the capital expenditures related to the new headquarter facility, Free Cash Flow for the three months ended September 30, 2022 was $45.8 million.

Return of Capital to Shareholders

The Company returned $9.1 million of capital to shareholders in dividends in the third quarter. There were no share repurchases under the Company’s existing share repurchase program. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had $210.9 million available under its existing $500 million stock repurchase authorization.