Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) released its fiscal third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Wednesday. The company said that it had $2.22 in earnings per share (EPS) on revenue of $1.97 billion. Consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for $2.18 in EPS and $2.02 billion in revenue.
During this quarter, digital net bookings for the trailing 12 months was a record $3.375 billion, up 18% year over year, and represents 67% of total net bookings for the same period.
The FIFA community grew to nearly 42 million players, on console alone, during the calendar year. FIFA Mobile added 26 million players to its total player base in the quarter and FIFA Ultimate Team player base grew 12% year over year.
Also, the company is boasting that the Madden Challenge entertainment special on the CW Network was the number one e-sports television broadcast in the United States for 2017.
In terms of guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter, EA expects to see EPS of $1.86 and net revenues of $1.53 billion, with net bookings of roughly $1.225 billion. The consensus estimates are $1.08 in EPS and $1.18 billion in revenue for the coming quarter.
Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, commented:
Players enjoyed hundreds of millions of hours in our games across console, mobile and PC during the holiday quarter, and we’re thrilled to see our titles driving excitement for more fans around the world. We’re expanding the reach of our top franchises across more geographies, our competitions are growing in participation and viewership, and we’re continuing to grow our network with more amazing games and content coming this quarter and beyond.
Blake Jorgensen, the chief financial officer, added:
Our diversity in portfolio, platforms, geographies, and business models is the foundation of a robust business that enables us to deliver dependable cash flow. Through the fourth quarter and fiscal 2019, we’ll be launching games across five different genres, on three different platforms, and to players around the world. We expect growth in full-game downloads, subscriptions, extra content, and in our mobile business.
Shares of EA traded up more than 8% early Wednesday at $128.76. The consensus analyst price target is $129.46 and a 52-week trading range of $80.40 to $122.79.
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