Video game publishers Activision and Electronic Arts, reported strong earnings as people staying home due to the coronavirus pandemic turn to games such as Call of Duty.
Activision earned an adjusted 58 cents a share on net bookings of $1.52 billion in the first quarter. Analysts expected Activision earnings of 38 cents a share on sales of $1.32 billion. On a year-over-year basis, Activision earnings rose 87per cent while sales climbed 21 per cent.
EA earned an adjusted $1.08 a share on net bookings of $1.21 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter ended 31 March. Wall Street was modeling EA earnings of 98 cents a share on sales of $1.19 billion. However, on a year-over-year basis, EA earnings fell 18per cent while net bookings dropped 11 per cent.EA stock ranks first out of 13 video game stocks in IBD’s Computer Software-Gaming industry group, according to the IBD Stock Checkup tool. That group ranks No. 16 out of 197 industry groups tracked by IBD.
“Our goal to connect the world through epic entertainment is more important to our players than ever before,” Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick said in an earnings release.
“In the face of so many difficulties, our employees have made certain that the joy, the engagement, and the benefits of gaming remain an effective way to help keep our 400 million players around the world connected and safe.”
Play of Overwatch and World of Warcraft continued to climb, and the popular color-matching smartphone game Candy Crush held firm as the top-grossing franchise in US mobile app stores, according to Activision.
Activision reported profit of $505 million (roughly Rs. 3,820 crores) on revenue of $1.8 billion (roughly Rs. 13,600 crores) in the quarter.
Electronic Arts reported that its net income doubled to $418 million (roughly Rs. 3,160 crores) on revenue that grew to $1.4 billion (roughly Rs. 10,600 crores) in the first three months of this year.
The latest installment in the popular FIFA soccer video game franchise boasted more than 25 million players, and the Madden NFL 20 title — devoted to US pro football — saw the highest online engagement numbers in franchise history.
Late last month Electronic Arts and Google (GOOGL) formed a partnership under which five of the videogame producer’s top titles would be made available on the Mountain View, Calif., search and tech giant’s cloud-based gaming platform, Stadia.
Activision Blizzard, in the first quarter earned 65 cents a share compared with 38 cents in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted earnings in the latest period were 76 cents a share against 78 cents a year earlier.
Revenue eased to $1.79 billion from $1.83 billion.
