WWE Made $1 Billion In Revenue In 2021 - Financial Reports Released
The rich get richer. WWE announces record profits and revenue for 2021.
WWE released its complete set of financial reports for 2021 yesterday, confirming that the company is more profitable than at any other point in its history.
Revenue increased 12% to $1.095 billion in 2021, the highest in company history. On top of this, WWE's annual net income increased from $138 million in 2020 to $180 million in 2021, shattering all profitability records.
As pointed out by Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston, this means that even with inflation taken into account, 2021 was close to twice as profitable as the most successful years of the Attitude Era:-
Net income: The most final measure of profitability.
2021 is easily WWE's most profitable year ever. Even when adjusting for inflation, 2021 was nearly twice as profitable as the best "Attitude Era" years of 1999 and 2000. pic.twitter.com/gtUXGOqoP1
Advertisement— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) February 3, 2022
Q4 2021 was particularly successful for WWE, with revenue increasing 30% to $310.3 million year-over-year and operating income up 131% to $83.6 million. For the year, operating income hit $259 million.
The return to fully-attended live events boosted WWE's finances in a big way in 2021. Saudi Arabia would have been a big driver of this, given that the promotion earns around $50 million per show held in the country. Crown Jewel 2021 (21 October) was WWE's first event there since February 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking on the company's Q4 2021 earnings call, WWE president Nick Khan was confident of the promotion's content rights being the subject of more bidders during the next round of negotiations, with parties like Netflix, Apple, and others competing. Rights fees remain the promotion's most valuable revenue stream.