World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. WWE 1.02% made a bold move by abandoning its lucrative pay-per-view model and investing heavily in its own over-the-top WWE Network streaming service. However, that bold move may pay off for investors now that WWE is positioned to benefit from both traditional TV and the growing number of cord-cutters.
Investors may not see WWE as a growth story, but it’s positioned to be just that in coming years, Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne wrote on Friday. Morgan Stanley estimates that WWE will be able to grow EBITDA by between 18 and 20 percent annually from 2017 to 2019.
The transition to the OTT model has required plenty of patience from shareholders. However, WWE is now positioned to deliver record adjusted EBITDA in 2017, eight years after its previous peak, Swinburne says.
Despite the strong earnings forecast, Swinburne says investors should stay cautious on WWE stock for now. WWE is facing a major unknown ahead when it renews its TV contract with Comcast Corporation CMCSA 0.28%’s NBC in late 2019. In addition, WWE will likely not be able to sustain its paid network subscriber growth in years ahead.
“We are lightly more cautious than consensus on the ability to sustain current WWE OTT Network net adds levels, as recent results suggest it is reaching maturity,” Swinburne wrote.
The number of paid net adds has dropped from about 820,000 in 2014 to around 190,000 in 2016. Swinburne says…
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