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Check Out WWE's Probability of Beating Q3 Earnings Estimate

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World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is scheduled to report third-quarter 2018 numbers on Oct 25, before the opening bell. We note that in the trailing four quarters, the company has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 17.7%. However, in the preceding quarter, the company missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.5%. Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

Investors are keeping their fingers crossed and expecting WWE to deliver positive earnings surprise in the quarter to be reported. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter under review is 21 cents, reflecting a decline of 25% from the year-ago period. We observe that the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained stable over the past 30 days. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $203.1 million, up approximately 9% from the year-ago quarter.

Which Factors Hold Key to WWE’s Performance?

WWE is focused on increasing original content, subscriber growth, rising TV rights fees and monetization of video content across digital as well as direct-to-consumer platforms. To remain on growth track, this Stamford, CT-based company has put into place a number of initiatives.

Earlier, the company had stated that the distribution agreement, which generated a large chunk of television rights revenues, will expire in 2019 in some regions. Therefore, it is looking to renew the distribution agreement in the United Kingdom by the end of 2018 and in India by the first half of 2019. The company believes that it will continue to add more WWE Network subscribers.

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Management now envisions average paid subscribers of approximately 1.67 million for the third quarter, reflecting an increase of 10% from the prior-year period. In the second quarter, WWE’s number of average paid subscribers increased 10% year over year to 1.80 million. During the first half of 2018, digital video views surged 58% to 14.4 billion, while hours consumed soared 71% to 509 million across digital and social media platforms.

Also, the commencement of Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia, under a 10-year partnership with the Kingdom, is likely to contribute significantly to the company’s overall revenues and adjusted OIBDA. This, in turn, led management to project third-quarter adjusted OIBDA of $30-$34 million. The company now expects full-year adjusted OIBDA in the band of $160-$170 million, up from its prior guidance of at least $150 million.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively show that WWE is likely to beat estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — for this to happen. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

WWE has a Zacks Rank #3 but an Earnings ESP of 0.00%, consequently making the surprise prediction difficult.

Stocks With Favorable Combination

Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:

The E.W. Scripps Company (SSP - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.03% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Viacom has an Earnings ESP of +0.38% and a Zacks Rank #3.

IMAX Corporation (IMAX - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.45% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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