© Reuters
Por Senad Karaahmetovic
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:) posted fourth-quarter results that beat estimates as investors continue to focus on the regulatory aspect of the game maker’s pending sale to Microsoft (NASDAQ:).
ATVI posted fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.87, well above the consensus of $1.51 per share. Net revenue rose nearly 8% year-on-year to $2.33bn, while net bookings came in at $3.57bn, again beating consensus of $3.19bn.
“We ended 2022 with record quarterly net bookings as we fulfilled our mission to bring epic joy to players,” said ATVI.
For the first quarter, Activision said it expects at least ten point year-over-year growth in GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) revenue, and at least ten point year-over-year growth in net bookings. Regarding the agreement with Microsoft, the company stated:
“The two parties continue to work with regulators reviewing the transaction and are working to close it in Microsoft’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals and meeting other closing conditions.” habitual”.
Stifel analysts reiterated their position that the sale of ATVI to Microsoft will eventually take place. On the financial results, the analysts added:
“Activision was clearly stronger in the content cycle relative to its peers, but the outperformance also shows that quality games can perform well, even in this economy.”
Goldman Sachs analysts said Call of Duty’s strength drove the outperformance.
“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II broke a franchise first-quarter sales record. Blizzard’s net bookings continued to grow, fueled by Warcraft and Overwatch and Diablo revitalization efforts. King’s Candy Crush achieved record performance , supporting overall ATVI mobile platform net booking growth by +0.5% YoY,” they wrote in a note.
Activision Blizzard shares were up more than 2% on the Tuesday before the open.
