WWE financial commitment for stockholder lawsuit settlement revealed, WrestleMania 42 ticket sales noted in TKO Q2 financials
TKO released their financial results for the second quarter of 2026, highlighted by big events like WWE WrestleMania 42 and UFC Freedom 250, and WWE clearing the $1 billion mark in revenue for the first half of the year.
But there were a few other interesting notes in TKO’s reports out Tuesday.
For April-June, WWE brought in $620.9 million in total revenue, up from the previous year’s $556.2 million for the same time period. That brings WWE’s total for January-June to $1096.6 billion, up from the previous year’s $947.7 million for the same time period.
TKO revenue for the quarter was $1.547 billion and a net income of $303.9 million. Their targeted revenue for the year increased to $5.825 billion, up from the previously targeted $5.775 billion.
UFC revenue was up to $535.7 million for the quarter, up from the $415.9 million in the same quarter last year. Total revenue for the year is a shade below $1 billion ($936.9 million) as the UFC Freedom 250/White House event was not ticketed and UFC/TKO had to pick up the expenses. TKO COO Mark Shapiro said on the call that the event contributed to $1 billion in earned media value.
Inside The WWE Numbers
The 12% year-over-year (YOY) increase was powered by the following:
- Media rights, production and content revenue finished at $359.7 million for Q2. Their domestic ESPN deal powered the majority of the $80.8 million YOY increase.
- Consumer products and licensing was up $12.7 million YOY to $46 million. This was attributed “to the sale of WWE-branded products, including trading cards and other collectibles” as part of their deal with Fanatics.
- Partnership & marketing revenue increased to $63.2 million YOY “primarily related to new partners and an increase in fees from renewals.”
- A rare negative was the live events and hospitality segment, down $33.7 million YOY to $152 million. This was “due to a decrease in ticket sales revenue, almost exclusively related to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, compared to the prior year period.”
WWE portion of Stockholder Lawsuit settlement
Two notes in the company’s filings tied into the WWE stockholder lawsuit, specifically how much WWE will need to kick in which is $105 million.
“The increase in operating expenses primarily reflected an increase in direct operating costs of $79.7 million and an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses of $98.4 million. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses primarily reflected legal fees and settlement costs associated with stockholder litigation related to WWE.”
From their 10-Q filing:
“In early June 2026, the parties reached an agreement in principle to resolve all claims against all defendants. The overall settlement amount is expected to be primarily funded by insurance recoveries, with a portion being funded by WWE as a result of pre-existing indemnification obligations owed by WWE to the directors. WWE’s portion of the overall settlement amount is $105.0 million, which is expected to be funded by probable insurance recoveries of $75.0 million, resulting in an expected loss of $30.0 million. The net estimated loss is included within selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. As a result, the parties and Court cancelled the trial, which was scheduled to begin June 8, 2026. The parties are currently drafting a settlement agreement, which the Court must then review and approve.”
How much Vince McMahon will need to contribute for his role, if anything, is unknown.
We will have more on WWE financials and such later tonight.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.