WME parent company Endeavor suffered a $303.5 million (€281.6m) net loss in the first quarter of 2024, despite “brisk demand for our sports and entertainment content, live events, and premium experiences”.
The Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment giant today (9 May) announced financial results for Q1, as it awaits the completion of Silver Lake’s $13bn acquisition.
While the firm reported a consolidated revenue of $1.850bn, three of its four segments saw a decline in revenue.
Representation revenue was $345.3m for the quarter, down $4.9m or 1.4% compared to the first quarter of 2023, though the loss was “partially offset by growth in WME’s music, talent, sports, and comedy divisions”. Adjusted EBITDA was $65.2m, down $19m or 22.6% year-over-year.
WME’s roster includes Justin Timberlake, Adele, Bruno Mars, Pearl Jam, The Killers, Bjork, Foo Fighters, Stormzy, St Vincent, Shakira and Snoop Dogg among others.
“We remain focused on maintaining our momentum through the year while working toward the close of our transaction with Silver Lake”
In addition to WME, Endeavor is also the parent company of sports booking outfit IMG, events business On Location, marketing agency 160over90 and sports data and technology properties IMG Arena and OpenBet.
The firm’s Events, Experiences & Rights segment revenue was $744.9m for the quarter – down $55.9m or 7% compared to the first quarter of 2023 – and was “primarily impacted by a decrease of $90m from the sale of IMG Academy in June 2023”.
The Sports Data & Technology segment revenue was also down, collecting $90.7 m for the quarter, a decrease of $10.1m or 10.1%, compared to the first quarter of 2023. The firm says this was primarily impacted by the loss of certain data rights at IMG ARENA.
However, Owned Sports Properties segment revenue was $685.4m for the quarter, up $332.1m or 94.0%, compared to the first quarter of 2023. The increase in revenue was mainly attributed to the acquisition of WWE in September 2023, which contributed $317m in revenue during the first quarter.
The earnings report is likely to be one of the company’s last as a public company, as the firm is expected to be acquired by majority shareholder Silver Lake by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
In today’s results, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said: “We remain focused on maintaining our momentum through the year while working toward the close of our take-private transaction with Silver Lake.”
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