Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike dragging on well into the fourth quarter (not to mention the Writers Guild strike ending just as the quarter began), Endeavor‘s representation business (including WME) saw earnings growth in its fourth-quarter thanks to the agency’s music, sports and fashion representation segments.
Endeavor disclosed its latest earnings results Wednesday morning, reporting revenue of $1.58 billion, a net loss of $29.3 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $292.8 million.
The representation segment, which includes WME, was up 18.9 percent year over year to $427.4 million, with Endeavor noting that “the impact on segment revenue by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes was more than offset by growth in WME’s music, sports, and fashion divisions, as well as increases at 160over90, licensing, and nonscripted content production content deliveries.”
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Meanwhile, Endeavor’s events, experiences and rights segment saw revenue of $414.5 million, down 5 percent year over year, primarily due to last year’s sale of IMG Academy. The sports data and technology segment saw revenue rise by 5 percent to $113.6 million, driven by the inclusion of OpenBet.
And the owned sports properties segment, which is primarily Endeavor’s ownership stake in TKO (which operates the UFC and WWE), revenue was $642.8 million, up 113 percent (due to the addition of WWE).
Endeavor reported $55.9 million of charges in the fourth quarter, including impairments in its Events, Experiences and Rights segment and restructuring primarily associated with the WWE integration.
“2023 was a transformational year for Endeavor as we strengthened our positions in sports and entertainment through many of our industry-leading assets,” said Ari Emanuel, Endeavor’s CEO, in a statement. “Endeavor’s work with TKO to secure innovative media rights deals and landmark partnership agreements is proving our thesis, and we continue to benefit from demand for premium content and live experiences. We remain focused on maximizing shareholder value through quarterly dividend payments and our evaluation of strategic alternatives.”
As Emanuel noted in his statement, the company is also engaged in looking at strategic alternatives, with major shareholder Silver Lake publicly exploring a take-private deal. The company did not have any updates on the process in the initial earnings release or on the earnings call.
“With regard to our review of strategic alternatives for the company, we are still engaged in the process and will provide an update when there’s more information to share,” Emanuel said on the call. The company also declined to give 2024 guidance, citing the strategic review process, and also did not take any questions from analysts.
