How much a stock’s price changes over time is a significant driver for most investors. Not only can price performance impact your portfolio, but it can help you compare investment results across sectors and industries as well.

Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you’d invested in Activision Blizzard, Inc ATVI ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to ATVI for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Activision Blizzard, Inc’s Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let’s take a look at Activision Blizzard, Inc’s main business drivers.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a leading developer and publisher of console, online, and mobile games. The company’s Call of Duty is one of the most popular gaming franchises globally. Its Overwatch League can be considered a pioneer of the esports concept.
Activision Blizzard benefited from the shift to digital download format. The company’s policy of updating games all the year-round increased revenue visibility and stability.

Moreover, the acquisition of King Digital in 2016 fortified Activision’s footprint in the mobile genre.

On Jan 18, 2022, the company entered into an agreement with Microsoft Corporation and Anchorage Merger Sub Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. Microsoft agreed to acquire the company for $95 per issued and outstanding share of common stock, in an all-cash transaction of $68.7 billion. The merger is currently expected to close in Microsoft’s fiscal year ending Jun 30, 2023.

Activision reported revenues of $7.53 billion in 2022.

The Santa Monica, CA-based company operates under three major segments and incorporates studio, media networks and distribution businesses under the “Others” segment.

Activision creates and publishes games for consoles, desktops, mobile, and tablets. Franchises under this segment include Call of Duty, Crash, and Spyro. The segment generated revenues of $3.27 billion and accounted for 40.5% of 2022 revenues.

Blizzard publishes games particularly for the PC format. It also maintains a proprietary online gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net, which facilitates digital distribution of Blizzard content and selected Activision content, online social connectivity, and the creation of user-generated content. The Overwatch League comes under this segment. The segment generated revenues of $2.01 billion and accounted for 24.9% of revenues.

King operates as an independent unit. The segment generated revenues of $2.78 billion and accounted for 34.4% of revenues.

The Other division includes Activision Blizzard Studios, the producer of original film and television content based on the company’s huge IP library. The segment also consists Activision Blizzard Distribution business.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Activision Blizzard, Inc ten years ago, you’re likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in July 2013 would be worth $5,996, or a 499.60% gain, as of July 13, 2023, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

The S&P 500 rose 166.17% and the price of gold increased 46.52% over the same time frame in comparison.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for ATVI.

Activision’s top line is expected to benefit from an expanding user base of Call of Duty (COD), Hearthstone, World of Warcraft (WoW), and Candy Crush franchises. This is expected to boost in-game spending, thereby driving net bookings and top-line growth in the near term. Moreover, the growing popularity of Diablo II: Resurrected is expected to boost top-line growth. Its strong liquidity position and free cash flow generation ability are noteworthy. However, intensifying competition from the likes of Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, and Nintendo is a headwind. Notably, Microsoft is set to acquire Activision Blizzard in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion. The deal is expected to close in fiscal year 2023. Shares of Activision have underperformed the industry in the year-to-date period.

Shares have gained 10.80% over the past four weeks, and there have been 3 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2023 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Activision Blizzard, Inc (ATVI): Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.