Video game publisher Electronic Arts smashed Wall Street's targets for its fiscal fourth quarter and raised its outlook for earnings in the current quarter and full year ahead. But EA stock dipped on Wednesday.
The Redwood City, Calif.-based company late Tuesday said it earned an adjusted $1.78 a share on net bookings of $1.95 billion in the quarter ended March 31. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected EA earnings of $1.34 a share on sales of $1.75 billion. On a year-over-year basis, EA earnings rose 35% while sales advanced 11%.
For the current quarter ending June 30, EA predicted adjusted earnings of 95 cents a share on net bookings of $1.55 billion. That's based on the midpoint of its guidance. Analysts had called for earnings of 89 cents a share on sales of $1.56 billion.
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, EA forecast adjusted earnings of $6.65 a share on net bookings of $7.5 billion, based on the midpoint of its outlook. Wall Street was projecting earnings of $6.56 a share on sales of $7.53 billion.
EA Stock Slips After Earnings Report
On the stock market today, EA stock dropped 0.5% to close at 124.74. During the regular session Tuesday, EA stock fell 0.3% to close at 125.41.
"EA delivered a strong Q4 with record net bookings," Chief Executive Andrew Wilson said in a news release. "We're excited to continue our momentum, including the highly anticipated launch of 'EA Sports FC' later this year."
Live services, especially the "EA Sports FIFA" franchise, drove the better-than-expected March-quarter results, Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh said in the release.
EA stock has been consolidating for the past 37 weeks with a buy point of 135.95, according to IBD MarketSmith charts.
SciPlay Stock Breaks Out
Elsewhere in the video game space, SciPlay handily beat its first-quarter targets late Tuesday. The casino games publisher earned 24 cents a share, up 33% year over year, on sales of $186.4 million, up 18%.
On Wednesday, SciPlay stock broke out of a flat base at a buy point of 18.27 but then reversed, according to MarketSmith charts. SciPlay stock ended the regular session up 4.4% to 17.74.
Follow Patrick Seitz on Twitter at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
