Shares of WWFE "tumbled" 22% Thursday to $15.50 after
the company confirmed that revenue from its core businesses
for the remainder of the year "would not meet expectations,"
according to Matthew Doman of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. WWF
CEO Linda McMahon said the company "did not do a good job"
in licensing and retail operations earlier this year, and
"admitted" that WWFE "suffered a loss of advertising income
on its broadcast network because of lobbying pressure
against the explicit violence" of "WWF Smackdown!" and "Raw
is War" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/29). CBS MarketWatch's Jason
Margolis wrote that a "key" to the decrease was WWFE's
"disappointing association" with the NHRA and "slowed toy
sales of older products" (CBS MarketWatch, 9/28). WWFE said
that the "earnings surprise should not spill over to future
reporting periods," and the fourth quarter "is consistent
with previous projections and that estimates for" the XFL
are in line with prior estimates (STAMFORD ADVOCATE, 9/28).
The WWFE also announced a stock buyback program of up to
$10M in common shares (DAILY VARIETY, 9/29).
