According to a new Varitey.com article, WWE CEO Vince McMahon is no longer a billionaire after he lost $350 million as of market close yesterday.
The article notes the following:
[WWE] stock was down more than 40% since the market open. In fact, the stock, which had closed just below $20 on Thursday, opened down below $11. That immediately knocked the WWE boss out of the billionaire ranks, putting his net worth now at an estimated $750 million.
The stock fell after news that WWE had signed a new television deal with NBCUniversal for less than some investors had hoped. Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey estimated WWE got a 50% raise over its last TV agreement, but he expected the new deal to pay WWE double or triple its previous one.
The article goes on to question WWE's core business hurting, citing the following:
Some investors saw the trouble coming. Intrepid Capital Management, once WWE’s largest outside investor, sold its 10% stake in January. Intrepid’s Jayme Wiggins told Forbes in a feature story on McMahon that he thought the billionaire was getting too excited about his new online streaming network.
That concern remains, but Wiggins now has additional questions after reading the company’s financial projections provided in the news release about the TV deal. The online streaming network should break even when it has 1.5 million subscribers, according to Wiggins, but WWE said its operating income will be just $40-$60 million at that point—even with new TV deals that will add $90 million to the company’s revenue.
“The question is why their numbers are so low given this renewal,” Wiggins said. “With the information that they put out there, it seems to imply that their core business isn’t making money.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
