Electronic Arts Beats Estimates

Updated from Nov. 2

Shares of Electronic Arts (ERTS Quote) surged Friday, a day after the video-game maker blew past Wall Street's second-quarter estimates for its top and bottom lines while lifting sales expectations for the full year.

Shares were recently up $5.87, or 11.1%, to $58.87.

"This is a great time to be in this business," Warren Jenson, chief financial and administrative officer of EA, said on a conference call with financial analysts. "This is the beginning of prime time for interactive entertainment."

The results suggest he's right. Revenue for the quarter totaled $784 million, rising from $657 million a year ago and plowing past the average analyst target of $672.5 million.

The company's Madden NFL 07, which sold 5 million copies in five weeks, and NCAA Football 07, which sold more than 2 million copies in the quarter, plus FIFA 07 and NBA Live 07 games drove strong sales.

Better execution on the launches, improved product quality, more robust Xbox 360 and Playstation 2 markets, as well as a marketing relationship with ESPN, has helped drive the sports franchise, executives said.

The company also paired up with Apple (AAPL Quote) during the quarter to bring games to the iPod.

By sector, North America revenue was up 16% to $512 million; Europe rose 28% to $245 million, while Asia was down 34% to $27 million.