Take-Two Interactive (ticker: TTWO) reported June quarter adjusted revenue that handily beat the Wall Street estimate and also raised guidance versus consensus for the current quarter.
The numbers. Late Monday, the game publisher reported adjusted revenue (or “net bookings”) of $422 million for the fiscal first quarter, versus the Wall Street consensus estimate of $357 million, according to FactSet.
The company also posted non-GAAP per-share earnings of 27 cents for the quarter, surpassing the average analyst estimate of 4 cents.
Take-Two’s adjusted revenue guidance for its September quarter also beat expectations, with a range from $860 million to $910 million, compared with the $852 million consensus.
“Fiscal 2020 is off to a terrific start with first quarter operating results that beat our expectations,” Take-Two Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said in the news release.
Take-Two also gave a fiscal 2020 adjusted revenue forecast range of $2.6 billion to $2.7 billion, versus its prior range of $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion.
During a phone interview, Zelnick said the company saw strength across the board in its core game franchises for the quarter. Grand Theft Auto Online revenue was up year-over-year, which was not the company’s expectation going into the June quarter, he added. The executive said Red Dead Online is also “gaining momentum.”
When asked about comments from Republican politicians and President Trump, citing violent videogames as a one of the drivers for the mass shootings, Zelnick told Barron’s, “We’re just sickened and saddened by these senseless tragedies. That said, blaming entertainment is irresponsible. Moreover, it is highly disrespectful to the victims and their families. The fact is entertainment is consumed world-wide...but gun violence is uniquely American. So we need to address the real issues.”
Take-Two shares closed down 5.2% during the regular session on Monday.
Looking ahead. The company will hold a conference call for investors and analysts starting at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time Monday.
In May, Barron’s said Take-Two made some of highest quality games in the industry and suggested its shares may rally once investors get visibility on the timing of the next Grand Theft Auto game.
Write to Tae Kim at [email protected]
fantasyguy211 on August 6th, 2019 at 01:08 UTC »
The shooter literally stated exactly why he did what he did but yes, continue to blame video games
Saganic on August 6th, 2019 at 00:42 UTC »
I've always hated this argument. I grew up on violent video games, horror movies, and gangster rap. I've never even been in a fist fight. Some people are prone to violence for all sorts of reasons, and I'm sure this type of content doesn't help, but it's certainly not the root cause of why people do heinous things.
sasha_the_bear on August 5th, 2019 at 21:14 UTC »
Reporter: "I see, you're totally right. Now, changing the subject a bit, what do you think about gambling addiction in videogames and gta v's..."
TT CEO: "Ok, thats all the time we have. I need to get going now."