What Is WWE’s Net Worth?
What is WWE’s net worth? That’s a question that many fans have been asking lately, and for good reason. The company has been through a lot of changes in recent years, and its financial stability has been called into question on more than one occasion.
So, what is WWE’s net worth? As of 2018, the company was valued at approximately $3.3 billion. That’s a significant drop from the $5.4 billion valuation it received just a year prior
WWE’s Business Model
WWE is a publicly traded company with a current market capitalization of $3.4 billion as of May 2020. The company’s business model is based on revenue from live events, media (including pay-per-view, over-the-top content, and TV), and consumer products (including licensed merchandise). In this article, we’ll take a closer look at WWE’s business model and its key revenue streams.
Live events
The WWE’s business model is centered around live events. The company produces television content primarily to promote its live events, which are a key source of revenue. The WWE stage approximately 280 live events each year, including WrestleMania, which is the company’s flagship event. WrestleMania is the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in history, and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment. Other notable events produced by the WWE include SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble.
Media (television and digital)
WWE’s business model is based on a combination of live event, merchandise, magazine, DVD, music, product licensing, and direct-to-home (television) and digital sales. The company has also experimented with other revenues streams in the past such as wagering, professional wrestling schools and restaurants. WWE’s main revenue source is still from its media business which generates around 50% of the company’s total revenue.
WWE’s television rights are their most valuable asset and the company has long-term deals in place with both USA Network (a division of NBCUniversal) and Fox Networks. These two networks air WWE’s flagship programs RAW on Monday nights and SmackDown on Tuesday nights respectively. Both RAW and SmackDown are two of the most watched cable programs in the United States. In addition to these two programs, WWE also produces several pay-per-view events throughout the year which are also aired on both USA Network and Fox Networks.
WWE’s digital business has been growing at a rapid pace in recent years and now accounts for around 20% of the company’s total revenue. This growth has been driven by the success of WWE’s over-the-top subscription service WWE Network which was launched in 2014. WWE Network is available in over 180 countries and currently has around 1.8 million subscribers.
Consumer products
WWE’s reach extends far beyond just television and into numerous different businesses, with the company’s ultimate aim being to touch every aspect of their fans’ lives.
One way they do this is through providing content across multiple platforms, including TV, digital (via the WWE Network), social media, PPV, and live events. But WWE also generates revenue through consumer products, such as DVDs and Blu-rays, books, video games, toys, and apparel.
In addition, WWE has their own studios that produce film and TV projects (most notably the hit Netflix series “GLOW”), as well as a successful podcast network. And let’s not forget about WWE’s official merchandise store, which sells everything from t-shirts to replica championship belts.
WWE’s Financials
In order to understand WWE’s net worth, we must first take a look at the company’s financials. WWE is a publicly traded company, and as such, their financials are available for anyone to see. The last few years have been good to WWE, with the company posting record revenue and profit.
Revenue
WWE’s revenues have been growing steadily for the past few years. In 2020, the company generated $930 million in revenue, up from $865 million in 2019. The company’s main sources of revenue are television rights fees, live event ticket sales, and merchandise sales.
WWE’s television rights fees are its largest source of revenue. The company currently has deals with NBCUniversal, FOX, and the USA Network that are worth a combined $1.025 billion per year. WWE also generates revenue from live event ticket sales and merchandise sales. Live event ticket sales accounted for $115 million in 2020, while merchandise sales accounted for $92 million.
Operating income
In 2017, WWE reported an operating income of $33.4 million, a decrease from the $52.5 million reported in 2016. Operating income is a company’s profit after accounting for all operating expenses, such as cost of goods sold (COGS), salaries, and other administrative costs. It’s a good measure of how efficient a company is at generating profit from its core operations.
WWE’s operating income has been on a roller coaster ride in recent years. After reaching a peak of $109 million in 2015, it fell to $52.5 million in 2016 and then rebounded to $33.4 million in 2017. The company attributed the decline in 2016 to higher than usual expenses related to the introduction of the WWE Network and lower than usual revenue from live events and consumer products due to the brand split.
Net income
Net income is what’s left of a company’s revenue after it pays all its expenses. To find it, you take a company’s revenue from a particular period (usually a quarter or a year) and subtract all the money that it spent running its business during that time.
WWE’s Valuation
WWE is a publicly traded company with a current market capitalization of $3.4 billion. The company’s 52-week high and low are $47.08 and $24.87, respectively. WWE has a long history dating back to the 1950s. The company was founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt and was originally known as Capitol Wrestling Corporation.
Enterprise value
WWE’s enterprise value is $3.4 billion.
Market capitalization
WWE’s market capitalization is $3.4 billion.
WWE’s Competitors
WWE is the largest professional wrestling company in the world. It has been a publicly traded company since 1999, and it is currently worth an estimated $3 billion. While WWE’s revenue has declined in recent years, it is still the most valuable wrestling company in the world. WWE’s main competitors are All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Impact Wrestling (formerly known as TNA).
World Wrestling Entertainment
WWE is the largest professional wrestling company in the world, measured by both revenue and attendance. WWE has also been referred to as “sports entertainment”, a label intended to induce more fan interest in the product by presenting it as a form of entertainment rather than a sport.
Vince McMahon is the majority owner, chairman, and CEO of WWE. His daughter Stephanie McMahon Levesque is WWE’s chief brand officer, while her husband Paul “Triple H” Levesque is executive vice president of talent, live events, and creative.
The company’s global headquarters is located in Stamford, Connecticut with offices in major cities around the world. The company’s main roster consists of WWE superstars and personnel who perform on various television programs (including Raw, SmackDown Live, Main Event and NXT), pay-per-view events (WWE Network Events and Pay-Per-Views) and live events (WWE Live).
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, and the highest professional level of American football in the world. NFL competition is governed by the NFL Constitution and bylaws, as well as collective bargaining agreements with its players’ union, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).
In addition to the primary playoff tournament held at the end of the regular season, five other NFL championship games are currently conducted:[10]
The NFL preseason begins with four exhibition games per team, held during August. After the exhibition season, rosters are cut down to 53 active players for each team’s regular season. During the regular season, each team plays 16 games over a 17-week schedule beginning on the weekend following Labor Day. Each week features one bye team; all 32 teams are grouped into eight divisions of four teams each, with each division playing all other divisional opponents twice (once at home and once on the road). Most weeks start on Thursday nights or Sunday mornings/afternoons; however, Monday Night Football airs on Monday nights during specific weeks (generally near midseason). Some selected Saturday dates are also used for primetime games late in the regular season. The NFL’s regular season mostly runs from September to December.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams play in the National League (NL) and American League (AL), with 15 teams in each league. The NL and AL were formed as separate legal entities in 1876 and 1901, respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities beginning in 1903, the leagues merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs. With the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament.
WWE’s Future
WWE is a publicly traded company with a current market capitalization of $2.7 billion. As of 2019, it has an annual revenue of $930 million. The company has been growing at a rapid pace over the past few years. In 2018, its revenue was $800 million. Its main source of revenue is live events, followed by media rights and consumer products.
New media rights deals
In 2019, WWE signed a new media rights deals worth a combined $1.025 billion with Fox Sports and USA Network. The Fox deal, which takes effect in October 2019, gives Fox the rights to air SmackDown Live on its broadcast network and FOX Sports 1. The USA Network deal, which runs through September 2025, gives the NBCUniversal-owned network the exclusive rights to Raw. These deals will significantly increase WWE’s television rights fees, which totaled $265 million in 2018.
WWE has also signed several other lucrative media rights deals in recent years. In 2017, WWE renewed its partnership with NBCUniversal through 2023, agreeing to pay $180 million per year for the right to air Raw and SmackDown on USA Network. That same year, WWE signed a five-year streaming deal with MLB Advanced Media (now BAM Tech), which is currently worth $150 million per year. And in 2018, WWE signed a deal with Saudi Arabia’s General Sports Authority to hold the Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, which is reportedly worth $450 million over ten years.
These new media rights deals will significantly increase WWE’s annual revenue, which totaled $930 million in 2018. And as WWE’s most valuable asset is its media rights, these deals will also lead to a significant increase in WWE’s net worth.
Expansion into new markets
In order to continue to grow its business, WWE has been expanding into new markets. In January 2014, WWE launched the WWE Network, a 24/7 streaming service that provides access to all live WWE pay-per-view events, as well as a large on-demand library of past WWE, WCW, and ECW programming. The service is currently available in the US, Canada, Germany, Singapore, France, Mexico, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
In August 2014, WWE launched a new digital subscription service in Japan called “WWE Fan Club Japan.” The service offers Japanese fans live and on-demand access to WWE’s monthly pay-per-view events, as well as a library of on-demand content that includes matches from Raw and SmackDown.
In October 2014, WWE announced plans to launch a new 24/7 streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa called “WWE Superstars.” The service will offer Arab fans live and on-demand access to WWE’s monthly pay-per-view events, as well as a library of on-demand content that includes matches from Raw and SmackDown.
In November 2014, WWE launched a new online subscription service in China called “WWE Network.” The service offers Chinese fans live and on-demand access to all live WWE pay-per-view events, as well as a large video on demand library consisting of past episodes of Raw and SmackDown.
Continued growth of live events business
WWE has increasingly relied on its live events business in recent years as its television ratings have declined. The company’s live events business generated $276 million, or 42% of its total revenue, in 2018. This was an 8% increase from the $255 million generated in 2017. WWE’s pay-per-view events are a key part of its live events business. The company generated $52 million from pay-per-view events in 2018, which was a 5% decrease from 2017. The decrease was due to fewer pay-per-view events being offered in 2018. WWE’s goal is to grow its live events business to 50% of its total revenue by 2023.
To achieve this goal, WWE has been working to expand its international reach. The company regularly holds live events in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and India. WWE plans to hold more than 400 live events outside of the United States in 2019. This would be a significant increase from the approximately 250 live events held outside of the United States in 2018. In addition to expanding the number of countries it visits, WWE also plans to increase the frequency with which it visits certain countries. For example, WWE plans to hold 14 live events in the United Kingdom in 2019, which would be double the seven events held there in 2018.
The expansion of WWE’s live event business has been a key driver of the company’s growth in recent years. Live event revenue increased by 9% from 2016 to 2017 and 8% from 2017 to 2018. This trend is expected to continue in 2019 with another 8% increase in live event revenue projected for the year.
