TKO's Q2 2026 revenue rose 18% to $1.55 billion on the new Paramount (UFC) and Netflix/ESPN (WWE) media deals, the UFC White House event and World Cup hospitality, while a $30 million WWE litigation charge and higher interest held net income growth to 11%; full-year guidance was raised.
Revenue
$1.5B
+18.2% YoY
Net income
$304M
+11.3% YoY
Diluted EPS
$1.34
+14.5% YoY
Operating margin
27.8%
Overview: new streaming deals and a White House fight card lift revenue 18%
TKO Group Holdings owns UFC (mixed martial arts), WWE (scripted "sports entertainment" wrestling) and, since February 2025, the IMG sports-marketing agency and the On Location premium-hospitality business. In the second quarter of 2026 (April–June), revenue rose 18% to $1,547.1 million from $1,308.4 million. Almost all of the growth traces back to three sources the 10-Q names explicitly:
Bigger TV/streaming contracts. UFC's media rights revenue rose because of "the new content distribution agreement with Paramount that became effective in January 2026", and WWE's because of "the content distribution agreements with ESPN and Netflix." Together, media-rights revenue at UFC and WWE rose $145.5 million — about 61% of the company's total revenue increase.
UFC Freedom 250, a one-off UFC event staged at the White House, which drove most of a $59.0 million jump in UFC sponsorship revenue.
FIFA World Cup 2026 hospitality sold by On Location, which added most of IMG's $66.4 million rise in live-event and hospitality revenue.
Profit grew more slowly than revenue. Consolidated net income rose 11.3% to $303.9 million, and operating income rose 16.7% to $429.8 million. The gap comes from $61.4 million of extra legal costs, including a $30.0 million net settlement charge for stockholder litigation tied to WWE, and a 46% rise in interest expense after TKO borrowed more.
Key metrics
Metric
Q2 2026
Q2 2025
YoY Change
Revenue
$1,547.1M
$1,308.4M
+18.2%
Operating income
$429.8M
Read 0 community reports on TKO Group Holdings, or write your own.Write a report
Net income attributable to TKO Group Holdings, Inc.
$101.6M
$98.3M
+3.4%
Diluted EPS (Class A)
$1.34
$1.17
+14.5%
UFC media rights, production & content revenue
$325.2M
$260.5M
+24.8%
WWE media rights, production & content revenue
$359.7M
$278.9M
+29.0%
Free cash flow
$349.6M
$374.9M
-6.7%
Operating margin is the share of revenue left after running the business (talent, production, staff, depreciation) but before interest and tax. Adjusted EBITDA is TKO's main internal profit measure: earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, excluding items such as stock-based pay and certain legal and transaction costs. It is not a GAAP (standard accounting) figure, and in this quarter it removes most of the litigation costs that depress GAAP operating income.
Why there are two net income lines. TKO has two classes of owners. Public shareholders own Class A shares. Endeavor-affiliated holders own Class B shares with matching economic units in TKO's operating company. Of the $303.9 million total profit, $202.3 million belonged to those other unit holders (shown as "non-controlling interests") and $101.6 million to TKO Group Holdings, Inc., the listed company. EPS is based on the $101.6 million. Diluted EPS rose faster than that figure (+14.5% vs. +3.4%) partly because the Class A share count fell after buybacks: basic weighted shares dropped to 74.8 million from 81.8 million.
Segment performance
Segment
Q2 2026 revenue
Q2 2025 revenue
Change
Q2 2026 Adj. EBITDA margin
Q2 2025 Adj. EBITDA margin
UFC
$535.7M
$415.9M
+29%
52%
59%
WWE
$620.9M
$556.2M
+12%
59%
59%
IMG
$354.7M
$306.6M
+16%
22%
9%
Corporate & Other (PBR, boxing, overhead)
$48.5M
$44.6M
+9%
n/a
n/a
UFC: revenue up 29%, but a less profitable mix
Media rights: +$64.7 million, driven by the Paramount deal. Two things partly offset it: the quarter had one fewer "Numbered Event" (the flagship pay-per-view-style cards), 3 against 4. (A putative antitrust class action filed in February 2026 on behalf of people who bought UFC pay-per-view events through January 1, 2026, or subscribed to Paramount+ since then, is pending; Zuffa moved to dismiss it on July 21, 2026.)
Partnerships (sponsorship): +$59.0 million, to $144.8 million, "largely driven by the UFC Freedom 250 event held at the White House," plus new sponsors and renewals.
Live events: -$10.7 million, to $47.8 million, because Freedom 250 sold no tickets and there was one fewer Numbered Event.
Costs: direct operating costs rose 65% ($75.9 million), "primarily associated with the UFC Freedom 250 event … with no such comparable event in the prior year."
The result: UFC's Adjusted EBITDA rose $35.6 million to $280.4 million, but its margin fell from 59% to 52%. Freedom 250 brought in sponsorship dollars but was expensive to stage and sold no tickets. That margin drop comes from a one-time event, not from a weakness in the ongoing business.
WWE: Netflix and ESPN deals offset a softer WrestleMania
Media rights: +$80.8 million (+29%) to $359.7 million, "most notably the content distribution agreements with ESPN and Netflix."
Live events: -$33.7 million to $152.0 million, "almost exclusively associated with WrestleMania in Las Vegas, which was revisited for a second consecutive year." A repeat host city drew lower ticket sales.
Consumer products: +$12.7 million (trading cards, collectibles).
WWE ran far more shows: 80 events against 60, including 22 international events against 2. Higher travel costs followed, up $10.3 million in SG&A (selling, general and administrative expenses).
WWE's Adjusted EBITDA rose $38.5 million to $368.3 million, with the margin flat at 59%.
IMG: World Cup hospitality more than doubles profit
On Location's FIFA World Cup 2026 hospitality packages lifted live-event and hospitality revenue by $66.4 million to $198.5 million. IMG's media-rights revenue fell $16.2 million after it lost a professional-cycling contract. Losing that contract also removed costs: IMG's direct operating costs fell 7% even as revenue grew. As a result, segment Adjusted EBITDA rose from $29.0 million to $78.6 million, and the margin went from 9% to 22%. This is event-driven. The World Cup and the February 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics (which lifted first-half IMG hospitality revenue by $245.6 million overall) will not repeat in 2027.
Below the operating line: legal costs and more debt
Litigation: Corporate SG&A rose $79.9 million (+67%). The 10-Q attributes $61.4 million of that to legal costs. These include a $30.0 million estimated loss on WWE stockholder litigation (WWE's $105.0 million share of the settlement, less $75.0 million of expected insurance recoveries) and $25.6 million of related professional fees. The parties reached an agreement in principle in early June 2026, so the trial set for June 8 was cancelled, but the court still has to approve the settlement.
Interest: Net interest expense rose $22.4 million (+46%) to $70.6 million because of the $1.0 billion (September 2025) and $900.0 million (March 2026) incremental term loans. Lower rates from a repricing effective May 28, 2026 partly offset the increase. Gross debt was $4.659 billion at June 30 against $592.5 million of cash.
Equity-method loss: a $4.4 million impairment on a struggling investee turned last year's $7.3 million equity earnings into a $4.4 million loss.
Much of the new borrowing has gone back to shareholders. The company says it returned "in excess of $1.3 billion" in the first half, including an $800 million accelerated share repurchase (4.17 million shares) completed June 30, a $200 million trading plan completed by July 21, and a $0.79-per-share quarterly dividend.
Takeaway: TKO's profit growth now mostly comes from contracts signed in advance. UFC and WWE media-rights revenue rose $145.5 million this quarter under the Paramount, Netflix and ESPN deals, and TKO reports $16.0 billion of contracted revenue still to be recognized ($1.7 billion of it in the rest of 2026). The quarter's weak spots were a one-off White House event that cut UFC's margin, WWE ticket sales, and a litigation charge. None of these affect the long-term contracts, but higher debt means about $70 million a quarter now goes to interest.
Cash flow
Operating cash flow was $374.0 million, down from $396.2 million. The main reason is timing: last year's quarter included $164.8 million of World Cup hospitality prepayments held in escrow, against $22.4 million this year. Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital spending) was $349.6 million, down from $374.9 million.
Outlook
Management guidance: TKO raised its full-year 2026 guidance. Revenue is now expected at $5.775–$5.825 billion (previously $5.675–$5.775 billion) and Adjusted EBITDA at $2.275–$2.305 billion (previously $2.240–$2.290 billion). The company also said it intends to make further share repurchases under its existing $3 billion authorization.
Our read: First-half revenue was $3,144.0 million (+22%) and Adjusted EBITDA $1,199.7 million. At the midpoints, guidance implies about $2.66 billion of revenue and $1.09 billion of Adjusted EBITDA in the second half, which is lower than the first half. That makes sense: the Olympics and World Cup hospitality revenue and Freedom 250 do not repeat, while the Paramount, Netflix and ESPN fees keep arriving each quarter. For Q3, check three things:
whether UFC's margin returns toward its usual high-50s level without a one-off event;
whether WWE's live-event revenue recovers as WrestleMania-related comparisons fall away;
how much of IMG's margin gain survives once World Cup hospitality ends.
The main risks are outside the core operations: court approval of the WWE settlement, the pending UFC antitrust class action, and a balance sheet carrying about $4.7 billion of gross debt while the company keeps spending heavily on buybacks.
Source: TKO Group Holdings Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (filed August 3, 2026), with cash-flow, EPS and guidance figures from the same-day earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1).