Video game publisher Activision Blizzard $ATVI reported second quarter earnings Thursday which easily beat consensus estimates. However the gaming company offered mixed guidance which saw the stock waddle. There was a lot of optimism on these results after Take Two Interactive $TTWO Ripped 12% on Raised Guidance during the day session. Games like Games like Overwatch and World of Warcraft and the Call of Duty franchise have seen Activision Blizzard’s digital revenue soar. 

$ATVI had 407 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs) in 2Q17. Blizzard saw a 38% increase in MAUs YoY. Overwatch and Hearthstone both saw growth in MAUs. Activision saw a slight decrease in MAUs YoY. King reported a decline in MAUs YoY but saw better gross bookings per paying user.

Earnings: Earned 43 cents EPS excluding items versus an expected 30 cents  on sales of $1.42 billion beating the expected $1.22 billion. Under GAAP Activision earned 32 cents a share on sales that increased 4% to $1.63 billion, compared to $151 million or $0.20 per share in 2Q16.

 

Reaction: Activision Blizzard, Inc.  After-hours: 62.75 -1.22 (-1.91%) After closing up with $TTWO during the day 63.97USD +2.52 (+4.10%)

 

During 2Q17, $ATVI reported revenue declines in all three of its segments.

• Activision segment revenues dropped 5% compared to 2Q16.
• Blizzard segment reported a 24% decrease in revenues
• King segment reported a 1% revenue drop versus the prior-year quarter.

 

Graphs via https://alphastreet.com/app#/company/ATVI

Guidance:

For the third quarter, Activision expects to earn 45 cents a share excluding items on adjusted revenue of $1.7 billion. Analysts had a expected 48 cents EPS and $1.65 billion in revenue. For 2017, $ATVI expects revenue of $6.40Bil, GAAP EPS of $1.05 and adjusted EPS of $1.94. For 3Q17, the company expects revenue to be $1.38Bil. 

Source: ATVI, TradersCommunity, AlphaStreet