WWE Stock Plummets to $40 Per Share

It’s been as high as $100 in the past year

and | February 6, 2020 @ 6:30 AM Last Updated: February 6, 2020 @ 12:09 PM
WWE-NXT

WWE

WWE stock sunk sub-$40 per share in premarket trading Thursday, following the pro-wrestling company’s release of Q4 and full-year 2019 financials. When the U.S. market opened at 9:30 a.m. ET, WWE stock was at $40.24 per share.

That’s down 18% from the $49 per share the company’s stock closed at Wednesday afternoon, which had been up $1.64 from where it opened that morning.

It’s been a rough week for WWE stock, which has gone as high as $100 per share in the past year.

Also Read: WWE Exceeds Q4 Earnings Estimates, but WWE Network Subs Sink 10%

Last Thursday, the company parted ways with co-presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson and shareholders panicked, with stock plummeting 20% in after-hours trading. At that time, shares were selling for less than $50 apiece — just four days after WWE’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.

Before the stock market opened this morning, WWE reported it beat fourth-quarter 2019 earnings estimates but missed on revenue expectations, despite reaching a record high thanks to its big “SmackDown” on Fox deal.

Wall Street forecast earnings per share (EPS) of 73 cents on $333.28 million in revenue, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Yahoo Finance. WWE actually reported EPS of 78 cents on $322.8 million in revenue for Q4 — an 18% increase in revenue over the prior year’s comparable quarter — which is the highest quarterly revenue in the company’s history.

Also Read: Is WWE About to Tap Out? Wrestlenomics Analyst Brandon Thurston Talks Stock Crash, Q4 Earnings

During Q4, WWE Network’s average paid subscribers dropped 10% to 1.42 million. That’s slightly lower than the company’s 1.43 million subscriber projection.

Fewer live events led to a decline in North American ticket sales, though there was a slight bump in international sales, primarily due to the increased average ticket price for those events. Consumer products also declined as video game “WWE 2K20” was very poorly received.

“During the fourth quarter, we expanded the reach of WWE’s live programming and further engaged with diverse audiences across platforms and formats,” WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said in a statement Thursday. “We believe the value of live sports will continue to increase, particularly in today’s evolving media landscape, and we are well positioned to take advantage of this trend to maximize the value of our content.”

Also Read: Is WWE About to Tap Out? Wrestlenomics Analyst Brandon Thurston Talks Stock Crash, Q4 Earnings

Frank Riddick, WWE’s interim chief financial officer, added: “For the year, we achieved record revenue and Adjusted OIBDA. However, with the delay in completing a Middle East distribution agreement as well as lower business performance than anticipated, our results were at the low-end of guidance. As we work to strengthen engagement in 2020, we are pursuing several strategic initiatives that could increase the monetization of our content, including the distribution of content in the Middle East and India as well as strategic alternatives for our direct-to-consumer service, WWE Network. Excluding the potential impact of these initiatives, we expect significant revenue growth based on the full year impact of our new content distribution agreements in the U.S. and anticipate Adjusted OIBDA of $250 to $300 million. Management believes it has the potential to exceed this range, but is unable to provide additional guidance at this time.”

McMahon and other WWE executives will host a conference call at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the quarter and full year in greater detail.

Winter TV 2020: Premiere Dates for New and Returning Shows (Photos)

  • winter premiere dates 2020 ABC/AMC/NBC/Netflix
  • Netflix
  • Say Yes to the Dress America TLC
  • Sister Wives TLC
  • Luke on 'Naked and Afraid: Alone' Discovery Channel
  • America's Got Talent: The Champions - Season 1 NBC
  • "The Bachelor" Peter Weber ABC
  • Love and Hip Hop Miami VH1
  • Manifest - NBC NBC
  • Ellen's Game of Games - Season 2 NBC
  • James Holzhauer Jeopardy Tournament of Champions ABC
  • Wild 'N Out Nick Cannon VH1
  • Gordon Ramsay's '24 Hours to Hell and Back' Fox
  • the haves and the have nots season 2 premiere ratings OWN
  • Schitt's Creek Pop TV
  • Vanderpump Rules - Season 7 Bravo
  • CBS
  • Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist - Season 1 NBC
  • Netflix
  • Undercover Boss CBS
  • Catfish MTV MTV
  • Criminal Minds CBS
  • curt menefee america's top dog A&E
  • Party of Five Freeform
  • Netflix
  • AJ AND THE QUEEN Netflix
  • Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector - Season 1 NBC
  • Jason Bateman The Outsider HBO
  • New Pope HBO
  • Grace And Frankie Netflix
  • Syfy
  • 68 Whiskey Paramount Network
  • CNBC
  • Killer Inside The Mind of Aaron Hernandez Netflix
  • grownish Freeform
  • Everythings Gonna be Okay Freeform
  • Apple TV+
  • Diary of a Future President Disney+
  • Sex Education Gillian Anderson Netflix
  • BBC America
  • Avenue 5 HBO
  • 911 Lone Star Fox
  • HBO
  • Nat Geo
  • Home Town HGTV
  • Legends of Tomorrow The CW
  • Project Blue Book History
  • Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens Comedy Central
  • CBS All Access
  • Station 19 ABC
  • OUTMATCHED Fox
  • The Bold Type Freeform
  • Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Netflix
  • Netflix
  • Hulu
  • Netflix
  • Showtime
  • Our Cartoon President - Showtime Showtime
  • YouTube
  • USA Network
  • Miracle Workers_ Dark Ages TBS
  • NEXT IN FASHION Netflix
  • Miz and Mrs - Season 1 USA Network
  • The Stranger Netflix
  • bojack horseman season 5 trailer Netflix
  • Ted Bundy Falling for a Killer Amazon Prime Video
  • ragnarok Netflix
  • Masked Singer Season 3 Fox
  • Spectrum
  • McMillion$ HBO
  • Desus and Mero Showtime
  • Will Arnett Getty
  • CBS All Access CBS All Access
  • Katy Keene The CW
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season 6 NBC
  • USA Network
  • Indebted - Season Pilot NBC
  • Edie Falco Tommy CBS
  • USA Network
  • Mythic Quest Apple TV+
  • Locke and Key Netflix
  • MacGyver CBS
  • high maintenance HBO
  • Showtime
  • Showtime Showtime
  • OWN
  • ABC's 'For Life' ABC
  • Survivor CBS
  • The Soup Jade Catta-Preta E!
  • Narcos: Mexico Diego Luna Netflix
  • Love Is Blind Netflix
  • High Fidelity Hulu
  • Hulu
  • Ellen DeGeneres in 'Visible: Out on Television' Apple TV+
  • Outlander Season 5 Starz
  • American Idol ABC
  • Duncanville Fox
  • Extreme Makeover Home Edition HGTV HGTV
  • NBC
  • John Oliver on 'Last Week Tonight' HBO
  • Sacred Lies Facebook Watch
  • The Chef Show Netflix
  • Gentefied Netflix
  • Amazon Prime Video
  • Better Call Saul AMC
  • The Voice - Season 17 NBC
  • Little Big Shots - Season 4 NBC
  • Sophia Lillis I Am Not Okay With This trailer Netflix
  • Altered Carbon Netflix
  • MTV
  • RuPaul's Drag Race Vh1
  • AMC
  • Breeders FX
  • Twenties BET BET
  • The Deed: Chicago - Season 2 CNBC
  • Dave FXX
  • Castlevania Netflix
  • DEVS -- Pictured: Nick Offerman as Forest. CR: Miya Mizuno/FX FX
  • Better Things FX
  • Cake FX FXX
  • Amazing Stories Apple TV+
  • Hillary Hulu Hulu
  • The Most Dangerous Animal of All FX
  • ride with norman reedus AMC
  • Neil DeGrasse Tyson Cosmos Nat Geo
  • Council of Dads NBC
  • On My Block Netflix
  • Elite Netflix Netflix
  • Flack Pop TV
  • The Wall Chris Hardwick NBC
  • HBO
  • Don Cheadle in Black Monday Showtime
  • Pilot The CW
  • The Plot Against America HBO
  • My Brilliant Friend HBO
  • Motherland Fort Salem Freeform
  • Hulu
  • Hank Azaria in 'Brockmire' IFC
1 of 138

Here’s when 137 broadcast, cable and streaming series debut and come back

Winter is well underway and with it, naturally, comes the Winter TV season. In honor of the colder months and their small-screen offerings, TheWrap has rounded up the premiere dates for not just the new and returning shows on Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS and The CW, but also the ones for the eagerly anticipated series hitting cable channels and streaming services this winter. Click through our gallery to find out when your favorite winter shows will be back and when your possible new favorites will debut.

Also Read: Why Netflix Is Betting You’ll Want ‘The Witcher’ Season 2 – Before You’ve Seen Season 1

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