Activision Blizzard (ATVI) crushed it.
After accounting for revenue deferrals that were factored into analyst estimates, Activision reported Q4 revenue of $2.64 billion (+8% year over year) versus estimates of $2.55 billion, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.94 versus estimates of $0.93.
Here are some of the top takeaways from Activision Blizzard's earnings report.
- Q4 is of course Activision's seasonally biggest quarter, and it looks like the company saw brisk sales for Call of Duty: WWII and Destiny 2. Activision notes that WWII was the top-grossing console game globally in 2017, and Destiny 2 the second-highest grossing console game in North America.
- Guidance wasn't spectacular, but Activision tends to guide conservatively. After accounting for revenue deferrals, the company expects Q1 revenue of $1.28 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.13 to $0.31 vs. consensus estimates of $1.42 billion and $0.43. For 2018, it expects revenue of $7.45 billion (implies 4% growth) and adjusted EPS of $1.83 to $2.50, vs. consensus estimates of $7.4 billion and $2.57.
- Full-year bookings rose 8% to $7.16 billion. For now, Activision is guiding for 2018 bookings of $7.45 billion.
- It looks like the Overwatch League, which launched on Jan. 10, is off to a decent start: Activision reports seeing over 10 million unique viewers during the league's first week, with an average per-minute audience of 280,000. But some details on subsequent viewing would be nice.
- With the help of Destiny 2's arrival on PCs, 29% of Q4 revenue involved PC games. Separately, 78% of 2017 revenue involved "digital online channels" such as game downloads, subscriptions and in-game purchases.
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