Shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) gained 2.5% in yesterday’s after-hours trading following the mixed fiscal fourth quarter results. The video game company benefited from the strong performance of Apex Legends and FIFA franchises, which was partially offset by elevated expenses.
Net revenue increased by about 3% year-over-year to $1.87 billion. Meanwhile, Electronic Arts swung to a loss of $12 million, or $0.04 per share, compared with a profit of $225 million, or $0.8- per share, in the same quarter last year.
Additionally, net bookings in the reported quarter increased by 11% year-over-year to $1.9 billion. In particular, FIFA net bookings jumped 31%, and weekly active users for Apex Legends increased by 20% from the previous season.
For the full year, the company reported revenues of $7.43 billion, up 6.2% from the previous year. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to $2.9 from the prior year’s figure of $2.76.
Outlook
Looking forward, management now expects Fiscal Year 2024 revenue in the range of $7.3 billion and $7.7 billion and EPS between $3.30 and $3.81. Additionally, net bookings are expected to be in the range of $7.3 billion to $7.7 billion.
For the fiscal first quarter, the company anticipates revenue in the range of $1.83 billion to $1.93 billion and EPS between $0.98 and $1.14. Furthermore, net bookings are expected to be about $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion.
Analysts Weigh in
Following the earnings release yesterday, two analysts maintained a Hold rating on EA stock. Among them, Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan remains optimistic about the company’s long-term performance.
The analyst believes that Electronic Arts’ growth will be supported by “their core portfolio, mobile strategy, international expansion, M&A opportunities, and organic projects.”
Is Electronic Arts a Buy?
On TipRanks, EA stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on six Buy and eight Hold ratings assigned in the past three months. The average price target of $134 implies 6.9% upside potential from the current level. The stock is up about 2% so far this year. Further, EA stock sports an Outperform Smart Score of “Perfect 10” on TipRanks.
As per TipRanks data, the most accurate analyst for EA stock over a one-year time frame is Mike Hickey of Benchmark Co. The analyst has had a 79% success rate in his ratings of the stock, with an average return of 20.72% per trade.
