Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software late Thursday beat analyst estimates for earnings in its fiscal first quarter, though adjusted sales were lighter than expected. Take-Two also maintained its guidance for the full fiscal 2025, but it is below Wall Street's targets. TTWO stock rose in extended trading.
The New York City-based company earned an adjusted 5 cents a share on net bookings of $1.22 billion in the quarter ended June 30. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Take-Two earnings of 2 cents a share on adjusted sales of $1.26 billion. In the year-earlier period, Take-Two earned an adjusted 27 cents a share on net bookings of $1.2 billion.
For the current quarter ending Sept. 30, Take-Two expects to earn an adjusted 40 cents a share on net bookings of $1.45 billion. That's based on the midpoint of its outlook. Analysts had been modeling earnings of 99 cents a share on sales of $1.46 billion in the fiscal second quarter. In the year-earlier period, it earned an adjusted $1.22 a share on net bookings of $1.46 billion.
For the full fiscal 2025 ending March 31, Take-Two guided to adjusted earnings of $2.51 a share on net bookings of $5.6 billion. Wall Street had been looking for adjusted earnings of $2.59 a share on net bookings of $5.64 billion. In fiscal 2024, Take-Two earned an adjusted $2.47 a share on net bookings of $5.33 billion.
TTWO Stock Rises On The News
In after-hours trading on the stock market today, TTWO stock rose more than 4% to 145.63. During the regular session Thursday, TTWO stock rose 2.3% to close at 138.78.
"We achieved solid first-quarter results by engaging our players with exciting new game releases and content updates, while also maintaining our focus on efficiency," Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said in a news release.
He added, "We are highly optimistic about our future — our core franchises remain vibrant, our teams are hard at work on the most ambitious development pipeline in our history, and we are evaluating continually new growth opportunities that have the ability to enhance our business model and financial profile."
New game releases in the June quarter included "TopSpin 2K25," "No Rest for the Wicked," "NFL 2K Playmakers" and "Star Wars Hunters."
Further, revenue from "Grand Theft Auto Online" surpassed company expectations, thanks to new content such as "Bottom Dollar Bounties."
Take-Two's next major game release is "NBA 2K 2024." The pro basketball game launches on Sept. 6.
"We expect meaningful sequential growth in fiscal '26 and '27," Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick told Investor's Business Daily. Take-Two's highly anticipated game "Grand Theft Auto 6" is due out in late calendar 2025, which puts it in fiscal 2026.
TTWO stock ranks seventh out of 36 stocks in IBD's Computer Software-Gaming industry group, according to IBD Stock Checkup. It has a poor IBD Composite Rating of 25 out of 99.
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