Is It Too Soon to Celebrate Zynga Earnings?

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) reported its first-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Wednesday. This stock has been a constant disappointment for investors over the past year and it seems like some positive news was way overdue. The question is whether these earnings are a one-time deal or if this is signaling a fundamental change in direction for this company. But some say it might be too soon to know.

The company said it had no earnings per share (EPS) on $186.7 million in revenue, compared to consensus estimates that called for a net loss of $0.01 per share on revenue of $163.4 million. In the same period on last year, Zynga posted a net loss of $0.01 per share on $167.4 million in revenue.

During the quarter, bookings totaled $182 million, an increase of roughly 8% compared to the same period from last year.

Average daily active users (DAUs) totaled 19 million for the quarter, down from 25 million in the first quarter from last year. Average mobile DAUs totaled 16 million, which is an increase of 7% sequentially but a decrease of 16% year over year.
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In terms of the outlook for the second quarter, EPS is expected in the range of−$0.01 to $0.00 on $170 million to $180 million in revenue. The consensus estimates call for $0.00 in EPS on $170.38 million in revenue.

Frank Gibeau, CEO of Zynga, commented:

It’s been a productive two months leading Zynga as CEO. I’m seeing our momentum improve as our teams continue their commitment to growing our established live franchises and demonstrate more cost and operating discipline. As a result, Q1 bookings were above the high end of our guidance range at $182 million, and Adjusted EBITDA was above our range at $11 million. Our mobile momentum continued with mobile now representing 76% of our total bookings, up from 73% from last quarter, and total mobile audience up 7% from last quarter. Zynga has all the ingredients it needs for a successful turnaround. My priority is to bring our founding social gaming vision to life in our games and lead our teams to deliver high quality experiences for players on time and profitably.

Free cash flow was −$6 million for the first quarter, compared to $3 million for the fourth quarter of 2015 and −$49 million for the same period last year. On the books, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were roughly $857 million, compared to $987 million at the end of 2015.

Shares of Zynga were trading up 11% at $2.56 on Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $2.95 and a 52-week trading range of $1.78 to $3.13.