- EA’s third-quarter results missed some of their performance goals but they showed that the company is in good standing nevertheless
- EA’s top-performing games did well once again and managed to secure strong exposure in their respected markets
- The company believes that it has all it needs to secure a strong fourth financial quarter and 2022
Electronic Arts (EA) has published its third-quarter results, for the period ended on December 31. The holidays quarter saw what the company argued was its biggest net bookings by far, even though it missed revenues and earnings targets, as reported by Yahoo! Finance.
EA posted a total of $2.58 billion in net bookings for the surveyed period, which is an improvement from last financial year’s $2.4 billion. Net income for the quarter had suffered and ended up down by 69% at $66 million.
Company CFO Blake Jorgensen made a statement, outlining that the company’s net bookings were by far the largest in its history, and as such, EA was in an ideal position to pursue growth over the next months. Jorgensen said that it’s important to look for what would be coming next:
“Our portfolio approach will enable us to deliver organic growth in the double digits this year, continue to deliver strong cash flow, and provides a strong foundation for growth as we look to the future.”
Company CFO Blake Jorgensen
EA’s Legacy Pays off Once More
The biggest drivers during the quarter weren’t any of the newly-acquired assets, to name Codemasters, Glu Mobile, or Playdemic. Rather, the company relied on well-established franchises such as its EA Sports division. The arm alone saw some of the best results within the company driven by domestic and international growth of its products.
FIFA 22 managed to become the most sold title in the west in 2021 and Madden NFL 22, another signature game by EA added another impressive result by becoming the title of the top-selling sport in the United States. The game alone stood as the third best-selling game in 2021.
So far as games outside of the EA Sports division went, the company saw Apex Legends recover a lot of momentum. The company reported a monthly active player base that was up 30% year-over-year. This alone emboldened the company about the future of the franchise.
Apex Legends was one of the most successful launches in video gaming history. The company chose not to drop any hint about the game and released it overnight. People going to bed woke up to find that the entire world was playing something called Apex Legends.
After a few dips in the numbers, it seems that EA has managed to restore the game back to its former glory. Consumer spending in Apex Legends went up 20% on a year-over-year basis as well.
Even though the release of the Battlefield 2042 video game did not go as smoothly as originally hoped for, EA is confident that they still salvage the situation and use the lessons learned in Apex Legends to turn the game around.
Looking ahead, EA has put forward some interesting projections, including an expected $1.76 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter and $130 million in net income.
