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Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Tops Q2 EPS by 5c, Revenue Beats, Offers Guidance

August 4, 2015 4:08 PM EDT

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) reported Q2 EPS of $0.13, $0.05 better than the analyst estimate of $0.08. Revenue for the quarter came in at $759 million versus the consensus estimate of $665.53 million.

Activision Blizzard’s third quarter and calendar year 2015 outlook is, as follows:

Prior Outlook* Current Outlook
(in millions, except EPS) GAAP Outlook Non-GAAP Outlook GAAP Outlook Non-GAAP Outlook

CY 2015

Net Revenues $4,250 $4,425 $ 4,425 $4,600
EPS $0.98 $1.20 $ 1.06 $1.30
Fully Diluted Shares** 750 750 750 750

Q3 2015

Net Revenues N/A N/A $ 875 $930
EPS N/A N/A $ 0.08 $0.14
Fully Diluted Shares** N/A N/A 748 748

The following table compares our CY14 actual earnings per share to CY15 outlook earnings per share.

Comparison
EPS Prior Non-GAAP Outlook* Current Non-GAAP Outlook Change
CY14 – Actuals $1.42 $1.42
Slate / Operations 0.01 0.15 0.14
Foreign Currency (0.15) (0.19) (0.04)
Tax Rate & Share Count (0.08) (0.08)
CY15 – Outlook $1.20 $1.30 0.10

(Street sees Q3 revenue of $873.03 and FY revenue of $4.47 billion)

Selected Business Highlights:

  • Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™ and Heroes of the Storm™, and Activision Publishing’s Destiny combined now have more than 70 million registered players and over $1.25 billion in non-GAAP revenues1 life-to-date.
  • Activision Publishing had its strongest ever second quarter engagement and digital monetization, with the most Q2 monthly active users (MAUs)B in its history, up more than 25% year-over-year, and the largest Q2 and first half digital revenues in its history.
  • Activision Publishing continues to have 2 of the top 5 videogame franchises in North America and Europe year-to-date, with Skylanders, including toys and accessories, achieving the No. 1 spot.2 Including toys and accessories, Skylanders was the No. 1 console title and kids console title year to date, and outsold the No. 1 action figure line in North America and Europe.2 Activision Publishing also continues to have 3 of the top 5 next-generation games life-to-date.3
  • Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty franchise Q2 non-GAAP revenues increased by a double-digit percentage year-over-year due to strong continued sell-through of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and growing online revenues per user across the franchise. Season pass, downloadable content, and micro-transaction offerings have helped drive increased engagement and monetization. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare remains the No. 1 next generation game life to date, as it has been since its launch nine months ago.3
  • Activision Publishing and Bungie released Destiny’s highly acclaimed second expansion,House of Wolves, which had a strong attach rate and engagement. Destiny now has over 2 billion hours of gameplay since launch, which amounts to an average 100 hours of gameplay for each of Destiny’s over 20 million registered players.
  • Blizzard Entertainment had the largest online player community in its history, with Q2 MAUsB up 50% year-over-year. Though World of Warcraft® ended the quarter at 5.6 million subscribersC, Blizzard revenues are up year-over-year based on strong performance across the expanding Blizzard portfolio. On June 23, 2015, Blizzard Entertainment released, Fury of Hellfire, one of the largest non-expansion content updates to date for World of Warcraft. Thisnew content helped stabilize the subscriber number towards the end of the quarter. World of Warcraft remains the No. 1 subscription‐based MMORPG in the world.
  • On April 2, 2015, Blizzard Entertainment launched Blackrock Mountain™, the second Adventure for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. The release of Hearthstone on iOS and Android smartphones followed on April 14, 2015. Key engagement metrics, which were already very strong, nearly doubled year over year, largely on account of the new content and new platforms.
  • Blizzard Entertainment launched Heroes of the Storm on June 2, 2015 with strong critical reception. The Eternal Conflict, a series of content additions based on the Diablo® universe, was launched in June and is still ongoing, and players have responded with positivity and excitement. Blizzard announced in May that Heroes of the Storm had been added to the Road to BlizzCon® program, and major tournaments are already underway globally.
  • On April 23, 2015, Sanctuary’s gates were thrown open to all Chinese heroes, as Blizzard Entertainmentʹs award‐winning action role‐playing game Diablo® III: Reaper of Souls™ went live in China. Diablo III has now sold-through over 30 million units life-to-date globally.
  • Blizzard Entertainment achieved record revenues and MAUsB in China this quarter, driven by the popularity of Diablo III, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and Heroes of the Storm.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Activision Blizzard (ATVI) click here.



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