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Despite Beating Earnings, Activision Blizzard Still Manages to Slip

Chris Lange

Published: August 4, 2017 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 9:27 am

When Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) released its most recent quarterly results after the markets closed on Thursday, the video game giant said that it had $0.55 in earnings per share (EPS) and $1.63 billion in revenue. That compared with consensus estimates of $0.30 in EPS and revenue of $1.21 billion.

During this past quarter, Activision Blizzard had a total of 407 million monthly active users (MAUs). Most of the MAUs are coming from the King segment, which had 314 million, while Blizzard had a record 46 million and Activision had 47 million.

In terms of the outlook for the third quarter, Activision Blizzard expects to see EPS of $0.34 and $1.385 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates are $0.48 in EPS and $1.65 billion in revenue.

On the books, Activision Blizzard cash and cash equivalents totaled $3.28 billion at the end of the quarter, versus $3.25 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year.

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, commented:

This was another strong quarter for Activision Blizzard. We exceeded our outlook and delivered record revenues for the first half of 2017.

He added:

Celebrating players and audiences is the foundation for our success. This quarter we announced the first team owners in the Overwatch League, the first major global, city-based professional esports league. With hundreds of hours of broadcast content ahead of us, as well as significant sponsorship and media opportunities, the Overwatch League will provide new ways for us to highlight and support the passion of esports fans and the skill of some of the world’s top Overwatch players.

Shares of Activision Blizzard closed Thursday up 4% at $63.97, with a consensus analyst price target of $64.25 and a 52-week range of $35.12 to $64.06. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was down about 1.5% at $62.98 in early trading indications Friday.