Gaming Giant Electronic Arts Slashes Guidance Amid Underperforming Titles
Disappointing Quarter Ahead for EA
Electronic Arts (EA) has revised its full-year bookings guidance downward, citing underwhelming performances from its soccer franchise, EA Sports FC, and role-playing game, Dragon Age. The company’s shares plummeted 7% in extended trading following the announcement.
Third-Quarter Expectations
For the fiscal third quarter ending December 31, EA anticipates reporting approximately $2.215 billion in net bookings, a significant drop from its previous guidance of $2.4 billion to $2.55 billion. Revenue for the quarter is expected to reach around $1.88 billion, with diluted earnings per share of $1.11.
Full-Year Guidance Revised
EA has revised its full-year net bookings guidance to between $7 billion and $7.15 billion, down from its previous estimate of $7.5 billion to $7.8 billion. The company attributes this decline to weakness in its soccer franchise, which has been a staple since 1993.
EA Sports FC Struggles
The soccer franchise, rebranded as EA Sports FC in 2022 after the company’s deal with FIFA ended, has seen a slowdown in growth during the December quarter. EA expects Global Football sales to decline year-over-year, with live services bookings also set to decrease in fiscal 2025. The soccer franchise accounts for the majority of the live services shortfall.
Dragon Age Underperforms
Dragon Age, a role-playing game for consoles, fell short of EA’s expectations, with only 1.5 million players during the quarter – nearly 50% below projections.
CEO Andrew Wilson’s Statement
“We continued to deliver high-quality games and experiences across our portfolio,” said EA CEO Andrew Wilson. “However, Dragon Age and EA SPORTS FC 25 underperformed our net bookings expectations.”
Earnings Ahead
The warning comes just weeks before EA’s planned third-quarter earnings report on February 4.
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