Restarting the game is critical to future growth, as EA posted record revenue

(Reuters) – Wall Street analysts expect Electronic Arts Inc to report record quarterly revenue on Tuesday, with players stuck at home due to new restrictions induced by the pandemic, increasing demand for their “Madden NFL 21” sports titles and “FIFA 21” at the crucial holiday shopping season.

Investors will also be looking for details on the new version of their first-person shooter “Battlefield” and the racing title “Need For Speed”. Delays in updates to “FIFA” and “Madden NFL 21” affected the company’s sales last year.

“EA plans to release 6 next-generation games on the FY2022, spearheaded by a new Battlefield game that is expected to anchor a more robust CY2021 / FY2022 framework,” said analyst Drew Crum of Stifel, adding that this year the company has not had a single action launch.

THE CONTEXT

EA and rivals Activision Blizzard Inc and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc benefited from an increase in video game sales during the pandemic.

But in the face of fierce competition, publishers need to keep updating their best-selling titles to attract new players and retain old ones. EA’s quarterly results will offer a clue as to how its games performed compared to popular titles like Activision’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War” and Take Two’s “NBA 2K21”.

For a Wall Street chart, EA’s revenue is expected to hit a record in the third quarter:

THE BASICS

* The Redwood City, Calif.-Based company is expected to report a 20.7% increase in revenue to $ 2.377 billion, from $ 1.98 billion a year ago, according to the average estimate of 25 analysts, with based on data from Refinitiv.

* The average analyst estimate for Electronic Arts is earnings of $ 2.96 per share. In the same quarter last year, the company posted earnings of $ 2.52 per share.

WALL STREET SENTIMENT

* The analyst’s current average rating on the shares is “buy” and the breakdown of recommendations is 20 “strong buy” or “buy”, 13 “keep” and without “sale” or “strong sale”.

* Analysts’ average profit estimate has dropped about 32% in the past three months.

* Wall Street’s average 12-month target price for Electronic Arts Inc is $ 150, about 4.7% above its last closing price of $ 143.01.

For a chart on Video Game Publisher Stocks increased in the last year (EA / TTWO / ATVI):

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Wall Street expects EA revenue to hit a record in the third quarter tmsnrt.rs/36mRGU5

Stocks of video game publishers increased in the last year (EA / TTWO / ATVI) Stocks of video game publishers increased in the last year tmsnrt.rs/39CHBnZ

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