Activision Blizzard Posts Better-Than-Expected Revenues, In-Line Earnings

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI – Free Report) released its fourth-quarter financial results, posting non-GAAP earnings of $0.45 per share and revenues of $2.043 billion.

Currently, ATVI is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could change based on today’s results. The stock is currently up 3.30% to $68.00 per share in after-hours trading shortly after its earnings report was released.

Activision Blizzard:

Matched earnings estimates. The company posted non-GAAP earnings of $0.45 per share. Including GAAP deferrals, adjusted earnings were $0.94 per share, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.94. These adjusted figures exclude a significant one-time tax charge. Including this charge, Activision witnessed a loss of $0.77 per share.

Beat revenue estimates. The company saw revenue figures of $2.043 billion. Including GAAP deferrals, revenue was $2.64 billion, beating our consensus estimate of $2.61 billion.

Activision Blizzard had 385 million MAUs in the quarter, up from 384 million last quarter. King had 290 million MAUs, down 1% quarter-over-quarter. Activision’s Call of Duty: WWII was the top-grossing console game of the year globally.

“In 2017, our community reached new milestones for engagement, our business delivered record revenues and cash flows, and we made important progress in building future growth opportunities such as the Overwatch League,” said CEO Bobby Kotick.

Activision Blizzard now expects full-year non-GAAP earnings of $2.45 per share, or $2.50 when factoring in deferrals. Revenues are expected to be $7.35 billion, or an adjusted $7.45 billion. Our consensus estimates are currently calling for revenues of $7.44 billion.

Here’s a graph that looks at Activision Blizzard’s recent earnings performance:

Activision Blizzard, Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise