What to Expect From Activision Blizzard Earnings

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 9:48AM EST · Published May 5, 12:50PM EDT

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What to Expect From Activision Blizzard Earnings — © Thinkstock

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is scheduled to release its most recent earnings report after the markets close on Thursday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $0.12 in earnings per share on revenue of $812.12 million. In the same period of last year, the company posted EPS of $0.16 and $703.00 million in revenue.

Activision reported very mixed fourth-quarter results, but remains a top pick with some analyst firms. The company develops and publishes online, personal computer (PC), video game console, handheld, mobile and tablet games worldwide. It develops and publishes interactive entertainment software products through retail channels or digital downloads to a range of gamers.

The company’s Call of Duty franchise has propelled earnings for this industry powerhouse for years. “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” was one of the top-selling games in the Christmas selling period, and its newest installment, “Call of Duty Infinite Warfare,” is scheduled for release later this year (November 4) just in time for the holidays.

The big news last fall was the company’s purchase of Candy Crush creator King Digital Entertainment. Most on Wall Street think the buy was an outstanding move for the company, and specifically the synergies between the two companies have been cited. Many analysts feel that the key to unlocking some monster value is creating and cross-promoting the Activision product inside the King Digital mobile distribution network.
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A few analysts weighed in on the company prior to the impending earnings report:

Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating with a $40 price target.
MKM has a Buy rating with a $38 price target.
BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating.
Piper Jaffray reiterated a Buy rating.

So far in 2016, Activision Blizzard has underperformed the broad markets, with the stock down about 10% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is up over 50%.

Shares of Activision Blizzard were trading up 2.4% to $35.08 on Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $38.43 and a 52-week trading range of $23.13 to $39.93.

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.