World Wrestling Entertainment's flagship program WWE Raw is the primary engine driving the top and bottom line growth of the company. It's a three-hour live show on the USA Network that draws 3 to 4 million viewers each Monday night. It's other major program, Smackdown, hasn't drawn an equal number of viewers. But that's about to change. Beginning on July 19, Smackdown will air live and this could end up being a huge payoff for holders of the company's shares.
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., an integrated media and entertainment company, engages in the sports entertainment business in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through Network, Television, Home Entertainment, Digital Media, Live Events, Licensing, Venue Merchandise, WWEShop, and WWE Studios segments. It operates WWE Network, a live streaming network that offers pay-per-view events, original programming, and video-on-demand library; and produces television programming, reality shows, and other programming, as well as produces content via home entertainment platforms, including DVD, Blu-Ray, subscription, and transactional on-demand outlets. The company also offers broadband and mobile content through its Websites and third party Websites; produces live events; and licenses various WWE themed products, such as video games, toys, apparel, books, and music. In addition, it designs, sources, markets, and distributes various WWE-branded products, such as T-shirts, belts, caps, and other novelty items; operates WWEShop, an e-commerce storefront; and WWE Studios that produce and distribute filmed entertainment content, such as movies for theatrical, home entertainment, and/or television release. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
(Summary) (Company) (Chart)
| 5 June 2016 Price $17.68 1yr Target $21.08 Analysts 7 Dividend $0.48 Payout Ratio 129.72% 1yr Cap Gain 19.23% Yield 2.71% 1yr Tot Return 21.94% P/E 48.04 PEG 2.40 Beta 0.82 | EPS (ttm) $0.37 EPS next yr $0.59 Forward P/E 30.02 EPS next 5yr 20.00% 1yr Price Support $11.80 Market Cap $1.34 Bil Revenues $653.70 Mil Earnings $28.30 Mil Profit Margin 4.32% Quick Ratio 1.40 Current Ratio 1.40 Debt/Equity 0.09 | 1yr RevGR 21.40% 3yr RevGR 10.70% 5yr RevGR 6.64% 1yr EarnGR --- 3yr EarnGR -8.59% 5yr EarnGR -14.74% 1yr DivGR 0.00% 3yr DivGR 0.00% 5yr DivGR -19.73% ROA 7.00% ROE 13.30% |
Operations
WWE is an integrated media and entertainment company. They have been involved in the sports entertainment business for over 30 years, and have developed WWE into one of the most popular brands in entertainment today. The company develops unique and creative content centered around their wrestling talent and then present it via their wholly owned subscription network (“WWE Network”), television, online and at their live events. Their WWE Network, live and televised events, digital media, home entertainment, consumer products and feature films provide significant cross-promotion and marketing opportunities.
The company's WWE Network launched domestically on February 24, 2014, internationally on August 12, 2014 and is currently available internationally in over 180 countries. This launch transformed the company and has changed the distribution of the company's pay-per-view events by distributing them through their digital platforms.
As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not legitimate contests, but purely entertainment-based, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and choreographed matches, though they often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury if not performed correctly. This was first publicly acknowledged by WWE's owner Vince McMahon in 1989 to avoid taxes from athletic commissions. Since the 1980s, WWE publicly branded their product as sports entertainment, which is considered to acknowledge the product's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater.
The company's majority owner is its chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon. Along with his wife Linda, children Shane and Stephanie, and son-in-law Paul Levesque (known professionally as Triple H), the McMahon family holds approximately 70% of WWE's equity and 96% of the voting power. As of August 2014, due to ongoing problems with the company, Eminence Capital, a New York-based hedge fund, acquired 9.6% stake of WWE while the McMahon family retains 90.4% interest.
WWE is an integrated media and entertainment company. They have been involved in the sports entertainment business for over 30 years, and have developed WWE into one of the most popular brands in entertainment today. The company develops unique and creative content centered around their wrestling talent and then present it via their wholly owned subscription network (“WWE Network”), television, online and at their live events. Their WWE Network, live and televised events, digital media, home entertainment, consumer products and feature films provide significant cross-promotion and marketing opportunities.
The company's WWE Network launched domestically on February 24, 2014, internationally on August 12, 2014 and is currently available internationally in over 180 countries. This launch transformed the company and has changed the distribution of the company's pay-per-view events by distributing them through their digital platforms.
As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not legitimate contests, but purely entertainment-based, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and choreographed matches, though they often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury if not performed correctly. This was first publicly acknowledged by WWE's owner Vince McMahon in 1989 to avoid taxes from athletic commissions. Since the 1980s, WWE publicly branded their product as sports entertainment, which is considered to acknowledge the product's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater.
The company's majority owner is its chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon. Along with his wife Linda, children Shane and Stephanie, and son-in-law Paul Levesque (known professionally as Triple H), the McMahon family holds approximately 70% of WWE's equity and 96% of the voting power. As of August 2014, due to ongoing problems with the company, Eminence Capital, a New York-based hedge fund, acquired 9.6% stake of WWE while the McMahon family retains 90.4% interest.
My Perspective
This company's financials being tied so closely to the McMahon family may be just too complicated for my type of investing but others may find this acceptable for their own investing style. I believe things may be turning around with the company and as long as revenues continue to increase, earnings and dividends should eventually increase also. But I need more evidence of a turn around prior to investing my own funds. For me there's just too many other investments for the limited amount of funds I have available.
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