Electronic Arts gains on record bookings driven by 'FIFA' success
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Electronic Arts stock (NASDAQ:EA) rose more than 4% postmarket Tuesday after its fiscal fourth-quarter results topped bookings expectations thanks to a double-digit gain driven by the success of its very last FIFA soccer game entry.
Bookings rose 11.4% to a record $1.95B, easily topping expectations for $1.73B, and "Live services and other" net bookings rose 9% to a Q4-record $1.622B. Those bookings made up 83% of the total, and rose 13% in constant currency.
Total operating expenses rose by 20%, though -- including $111M in restructuring costs -- and so operating income fell to $175M from a year-ago $365M. After a bigger provision for income taxes, the company swung to a GAAP net loss of $12M from the prior-year gain of $225M.
"Record live services performance and increased engagement, particularly from our EA Sports FIFA franchise, drove better-than-expected Q4 net bookings, capping a strong finish to the fiscal year," Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh said. "Looking ahead, our teams remain disciplined in prioritizing the player experience as we continue to focus our investments on long-term growth."
EA Sports' FIFA franchise grew its net bookings 31% year-over-year (37% in constant currency). And in six months since launch, FIFA 23 has surpassed lifetime sales of FIFA 22.
News came a year ago that EA failed to strike a new FIFA licensing deal, meaning FIFA 23 was the last in a near-30-year partnership and that the company would move forward later in 2023 with a new title: EA Sports FC.
Meanwhile, Apex Legends delivered constant-currency growth, EA said, with peak weekly active users up 20% from the previous season, and The Sims player network has grown to more than 70M globally.
For the current first quarter, it expects net bookings of $1.5B-$1.6B (in line with consensus for $1.54B) and net income of $271M-$316M.
For the coming fiscal year, it's guiding to net bookings of $7.3B-$7.7B, in line with expectations for $7.54B; for net income of $915M-$1.055B; and operating cash flow of $1.7B-$1.85B.
Conference call to come at 5 p.m. ET.