EA Trips Over Guidance, Even With Star Wars: Battlefront

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 2:23PM EST · Published Jan 28, 4:52PM EST

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EA Trips Over Guidance, Even With Star Wars: Battlefront — © Thinkstock

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results after the markets closed Thursday. The company had $1.83 in earnings per share (EPS) on $1.8 billion in revenue. That compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $1.81 in EPS on $1.81 billion in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $1.22 in EPS on $1.43 billion in revenue.

During this quarter, Star Wars: Battlefront surpassed EA’s fiscal year guidance of 13 million units sold-in. At the same time, EA’s FIFA, Madden NFL and Hockey Ultimate Team live services continue to perform well in the quarter, collectively up 13% year over year and up 22% on a constant currency basis.

In terms of guidance, EA expects to have EPS of $0.40 on $875 million in revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter. The consensus estimates call for $0.50 in EPS on $915.41 million in revenue.

The company only repurchased roughly 1.8 million shares over the course of the third quarter for a total of $126 million.

[nativounit]

Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, commented on earnings:

This holiday season we connected millions of players through amazing games across multiple platforms. From the stunning visuals and gameplay of STAR WARS Battlefront, to the anytime, anywhere competition in Madden NFL Mobile, players are deeply engaged across the increasing depth and breadth of the EA portfolio.

Blake Jorgensen, the chief financial officer, added:

It was a great quarter with non-GAAP revenue and earnings that exceeded our guidance. Our results were driven by strong performances from STAR WARS Battlefront, Need for Speed, Ultimate Team and catalog titles.

On the books, EA had cash, equivalents and short-term investments that totaled $3.23 billion, compared to $3.02 billion the same quarter last year.

Shares of EA closed Thursday at $69.79, with a consensus analyst price target of $82.78 and a 52-week trading range of $53.55 to $76.92. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was down 7.3% at $64.71 in the after-hours trading session.

Perhaps EA should have listened to our call to finally pay a dividend to its shareholders.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.