Electronic Arts (EA) has cut its full-year revenue guidance following underperformance in key games like EA Sports FC and Dragon Age. The video game company reported a 7% drop in shares during extended trading. For the December quarter, EA expects net bookings of about $2.215 billion, down from its previous range of $2.4 to $2.55 billion. Revenue for the quarter is projected at $1.88 billion with diluted earnings per share of around $1.11.
EA also revised its full-year guidance to between $7 billion and $7.15 billion, below its prior estimate of $7.5 to $7.8 billion. Net bookings now include both physical game sales and online revenue. The company acknowledged that EA Sports FC, which used to be under the FIFA brand before a recent deal ended in 2022, has seen a slowdown compared to its previous growth rates.
EA mentioned that Dragon Age, one of its console games for Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox, had 1.5 million players in the quarter, significantly below expectations. CEO Andrew Wilson stated during a call that while high-quality games were being delivered, Dragon Age and EA Sports FC 25 underperformed net bookings targets.
EA noted that its soccer franchise, called Global Football by itself, has seen slower growth for live services compared to previous years. The company expects declines in both global football sales and online service bookings for the upcoming fiscal year. Recent updates to EA Sports FC 25 have included new content, improved gameplay, and an annual “Team of the Year” feature, which received positive feedback from players.
This warning comes ahead of EA’s third-quarter earnings report scheduled for February 4th. The company is scaling back its revenue expectations due to underperformance in its soccer franchise and other games.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/22/ea-lowers-q3-guidance-as-soccer-and-other-games-underperformed.html