Endeavor swung wide to a profit in Q1, fueled by the sale of Endeavor Content and big year-over-year gains for its events and talent representation units.
Endeavor posted net income of $517 million on revenue of $1.47 billion. The black ink was driven by a $463.6 million one-time gain stemming from the sale last year of the Endeavor Content division, which was acquired by South Korea’s CJ ENM for $775 million.
Excluding the Endeavor Content gain, Endeavor’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization came in it about $129.2 million.
The company raised its full-year 2022 revenue guidance slighty, predicting it will come in between $5.235 billion and $5.47 billion, up from the $5.2 billion to $5.45 billion forecast from last quarter, and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $1.1 billion to $1.15 billion.
Endeavor had operational momentum in its Events, Experiences and Rights division as well as the Representation segment, which was powered by a strong performance from WME. Endeavor’s Owned Sports Properties unit saw smaller gains, in part because of the timing of pay-per-view events in the quarter for UFC compared to the same frame last year.
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“Our growth in the first quarter was driven by our ability to respond to the high demand for premium content
and live events,” said Endeavor chief executive Ariel Emanuel. “We feel great about where we sit relative to the secular tailwinds across all of our businesses, and we’ve raised our guidance for the fourth quarter in a row to reflect
our positive outlook for the balance of the year.”
Endeavor recently passed the one-year anniversary of its IPO on April 29, 2021. Shares held up well by staying about the $24 debut price but with the broader market gyrations of the past few weeks, Endeavor shares have plunged more than 40% for the year to date. On Thursday, shares gained 33 cents for the day to close at $18.35.
More to come
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