Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software late Wednesday beat expectations for its fiscal second quarter. But news about the next game in its blockbuster "Grand Theft Auto" series overshadowed the report, driving TTWO stock higher.
The New York City-based company earned an adjusted $1.22 a share on net bookings of $1.44 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of $1.03 a share on sales of $1.43 billion. In the year-earlier period, Take-Two earned an adjusted $1.30 a share on net bookings of $1.505 billion.
Take-Two's earnings guidance for the current quarter and full fiscal year was above Wall Street's targets but its sales outlook was mixed.
For the current quarter ending Dec. 31, Take-Two expects to earn an adjusted 97 cents a share on net bookings of $1.325 billion. That's based on the midpoint of its guidance. Analysts had been looking for earnings of 94 cents a share on sales of $1.43 billion in the fiscal third quarter.
For the full fiscal 2024, Take-Two predicted adjusted earnings of $4.06 a share on net bookings of $5.5 billion. Wall Street was modeling earnings of $3.21 a share on sales of $5.51 billion.
TTWO Stock Rises After Report
In after-hours trading on the stock market today, TTWO stock climbed 1.5% to 145.68. During the regular session Wednesday, TTWO stock surged 5.2% to close at 143.47.
TTWO stock has been consolidating for the past 17 weeks with a buy point of 153.84, according to IBD MarketSmith charts.
"Looking ahead, I am optimistic about our company's multiyear growth trajectory," Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said in a news release. "Our development pipeline is robust and diverse, and we are getting closer to delivering the groundbreaking titles that our audiences throughout the world have been anticipating."
Early Wednesday, Sam Houser, president of Rockstar Games, a Take-Two game studio, announced in a blog post that the first trailer for the new "Grand Theft Auto" game will debut in early December. He did not announce the title of the game, which fans have been calling "Grand Theft Auto 6" or "GTA 6." The game reportedly is due out in Take-Two's fiscal 2025, which starts next April.
Take-Two owns such popular game franchises as "GTA," "Red Dead Redemption" and "NBA 2K." Its mobile games include "Empires & Puzzles," "Toon Blast" and "Words with Friends."
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