Earnings Results: Electronic Arts stock rises after mixed results, outlook and ‘FIFA’ rebrand

Electronic Arts Inc. shares gained in the extended session Tuesday after the videogame publisher reported a mixed bag of slight beats and misses in both its results and outlook. Read More...

Electronic Arts Inc. shares rose in the extended session Tuesday after the videogame publisher reported a mixed bag of slight beats and misses in both its results and outlook.

EA EA, -0.39% shares fluctuated in after-hours trading but ended up 4.3% higher. That followed a 0.4% decline in the regular session to close at $111.60.

Hours before its earnings report, EA confirmed on Tuesday reports that it was rebranding its biggest franchise, its FIFA soccer game, after negotiations with soccer’s world governing body, the Federation Internationale de Football Association, ended without an agreement to continue the nearly 30-year partnership. EA said its FIFA game had more than 150 million active accounts.

Known for its sports franchises like “Madden NFL” as well as action titles like “Apex Legends” and “Battlefield 2042,” the company reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $225 million, or 80 cents a share, compared with $76 million, or 26 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Read: The pandemic boom in videogames is expected to disappear in 2022

Revenue rose to $1.83 billion from $1.35 billion in the year-ago quarter. Bookings, which account for deferred revenue, reached $7.52 billion over the trailing past 12 months, the company said. Net bookings for the quarter were $1.75 billion, compared with $1.49 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 66 cents a share on revenue of $1.78 billion and net bookings of $1.77 billion. Last quarter, EA forecast earnings of 46 cents a share on sales of $1.76 billion, with net bookings also hitting $1.76 billion.

EA forecast earnings of 76 cents to 85 cents a share on revenue of $1.68 billion to $1.73 billion, with net bookings of $1.2 billion to $1.25 billion for the first quarter, and earnings of $2.79 to $2.87 a share on revenue of $7.6 billion to $7.8 billion, and net bookings of $7.9 billion to $8.1 billion for the year.

Analysts, on average, expect first-quarter earnings of 68 cents a share on revenue of $1.44 billion and bookings of $1.43 billion; and $4.41 a share, sales of $7.85 billion, and bookings of $8.03 billion for the year.