TKO Group Holdings held its first quarter 2026 earnings call earlier on Thursday.
The call came an hour after reporting $1.6 billion in revenue and a 26% year-over-year increase across its businesses. President and COO Mark Shapiro delivered the bulk of the prepared remarks and fielded analyst questions alongside CFO Andrew Schleimer.
Topics included a strong assurance on the company’s Saudi Arabia partnerships, and an acknowledgment of some fan dissatisfaction with commercial integrations.
Saudi Arabia: “Their commitment is unwavering”
Shapiro addressed the status of TKO’s Middle East event calendar, an apparent response to the recent news that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had pulled its funding from LIV Golf.
Following the news of PIF withdrawing its funding in LIV Golf, our partners in Saudi Arabia have confirmed that will not be the case with TKO. Their commitment to our properties in 2026 and beyond is unwavering.
Shapiro confirmed that eight more TKO events are planned across the Middle East for the remainder of 2026, spanning UFC, WWE, and Zuffa Boxing. Two are scheduled for June 27th: WWE Night of Champions in Riyadh and a UFC Fight Night in Baku, Azerbaijan. He described the schedule as a “historic TKO doubleheader”.
Schleimer added that the Baku event is part of a multi-year renewal at a higher per-event financial incentive package than the original 2025 deal.
UFC Freedom 250
TKO expects to lose approximately $30 million on UFC Freedom 250, the event planned for the White House grounds on June 14.
Shapiro had previewed this figure on the previous earnings call, and he confirmed that it remains the case despite what he described as “meaningfully increased costs associated with an expanded fight card and the two-day festivalization of this event.”
Shapiro said the limited marketing inventory for the event is now sold out, with Ram Trucks and Crypto.com signed as co-presenting partners. The event will be simulcast on CBS and Paramount+. TKO is treating the loss as a brand-building investment.
WrestleMania 42
Shapiro acknowledged that TKO had received investor questions about WWE ticket demand after WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas drew comparisons to the previous year’s event in the same city.
“We are not concerned about the ticket performance whatsoever, as it was unrealistic to expect year two growth in Las Vegas,” he said. The event drew more than 106,000 fans across two nights and delivered financial incentive package economics “meaningfully ahead of last year,” according to Shapiro. He described it as “still one of the highest gates in WWE history” and said it “easily outperformed anywhere else we could have staged it.”
Fan criticism of creative and commercial integration
Brandon Ross of LightShed Partners raised the subject of fan backlash over sponsorship saturation and ticket pricing at WWE events. Shapiro gave a lengthy response.
“We take any and all feedback, especially from our core fan base, extremely serious,” he said. He then framed the issue as universal across live entertainment, comparing it to rising movie theater prices, NBA jersey patches, and naming rights at Dodger Stadium.
On WWE specifically, Shapiro said the company is “truly new to commercial integration and sponsorship” and acknowledged there had been trial and error. “We’ve pushed some boundaries. With various events, we’ve leaned in. With others, we’ve pulled back.”
Shapiro maintained that “our product comes first” and pointed to record attendance, viewership, and engagement figures as evidence that the audience remains resilient. “Doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want to do. Absolutely not. Quite the contrary.”
UFC card quality defended
LightShed’s Brandon Ross also asked about criticism of recent UFC cards. Shapiro’s response was direct: “Bottom line is we don’t buy it.”
He pointed to UFC 327 in Miami and the most recent Fight Night in Perth, Australia as examples of product quality and cited a wave of rising talent including Joshua Van, Carlos Prates, and Michael Morales. “We don’t get to determine who wins. It doesn’t work like that,” he said, comparing the natural cycles of star power in UFC to the NBA’s post-Michael Jordan transition.
Shapiro highlighted the UFC Freedom 250 card as evidence of continued investment in marquee matchups, noting the company is using the event to feature Ilia Topuria.
NXT talent development
Andrew Schleimer said that TKO has increased the number of NXT non-televised live events as a deliberate strategy to develop younger talent. “The goal of this strategy is based on a desire to get younger talent more experience in front of live audiences,” he said. “We believe this will accelerate their development and readiness to join our main roster.”
New media deals
Shapiro confirmed several new content arrangements struck during or shortly after Q1:
- Netflix has become the official U.S. home of WWE’s on-demand archive, including decades of WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble content. Shapiro said the deal came “in direct response to early success they’ve had with WWE’s premium content” and momentum behind Season 2 of the WWE: Unreal docuseries.
- The CW will become the exclusive home of all NXT premium live events, adding approximately 20 live broadcasts to a partnership that has already made NXT the network’s top-rated program among key demographics.
- IMG has agreed to a long-term strategic partnership with World Rugby ahead of the 2031 and 2033 Rugby World Cups in North America.
Zuffa Boxing and PBR updates
Shapiro described Zuffa Boxing’s progress as exceeding internal growth projections. The venture has signed more than 100 fighters and staged five events with viewership on Paramount+. A multi-year deal with Sky Sports covers the UK and Ireland, and media rights agreements are in place across 15 additional territories.
PBR opened 2026 with record performance in seven markets and announced a two-franchise expansion of its team series, growing from 10 to 12 teams for the 2027 season. Shapiro noted that original franchise fees were roughly $3 million when the league launched five years ago, rose to just over $22 million in 2024, and are expected to command “multiples of that” in the new expansion round.
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery
Asked about the potential combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, Shapiro expressed enthusiasm without offering specifics. “The idea of all of these assets, platforms, and reach devices being in the hands of David Ellison and his team, just given what we’ve seen already from this partnership, we are ecstatic,” he said. He noted that potential extends beyond UFC to Zuffa Boxing.
Fighter and talent compensation
Schleimer confirmed that UFC fighter bonuses were doubled at the outset of the Paramount deal, describing the investment as an “eight-figure” commitment that is already baked into full-year guidance. “Fighter compensation continues to grow at a meaningful clip,” he said. “We know what our core assets are.”
Shapiro added that competition for talent across combat sports and wrestling is real and constant. “From Dana to Triple H, it’s something they think about when they wake up and it’s on their mind when they go to bed.”
