7 Things We Learned From WWE's Q3 Earnings Conference Call
1. The Company Is In A Good Place Right Now
In pure numerical terms, WWE's business is booming.
It's easy to deride the company's creative flaws, and they'll always find themselves under an intensely critical microscope, but the numbers don't lie. Revenue is at an all-time high ($186.4 million in Q3), and OIBDA (WWE's chosen method of measuring profit) has jumped from $18.6 million to $40.4 million between the second and third quarters. They're doing better than anyone expected after a disappointing Q2, and expect their success to continue in Q4.
As per Barrios on the call, WWE expect to accrue between $31-35 million in adjusted Q4 OIBDA, and have now raised their annual target from $100 million to $108 million for 2017. The company also expect to achieve another year of record revenue in 2018, with $115 million their current goal.
The company's Q3 report showcased a number of big concerns, with declining live attendances the most notable stat, but these numbers put things into perspective. As much as WWE's biggest critics love declaring that the sky is falling, the reality is that the company are currently performing very, very well. This doesn't excuse their inconsistent creative output, but they're currently hitting all their targets, which will only encourage them to continue down their current path.
This is bad news for anyone calling for change on Raw and SmackDown, but good news for advertisers, investors, and executives.