Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) announced fiscal second-quarter results that significantly surpassed analyst expectations, but the strong performance was overshadowed by a six-month delay for its highly anticipated title, “Grand Theft Auto 6.” The news sent the company’s stock tumbling 9% to $229.69 in after-hours trading, following a 0.9% decline during Thursday’s regular session.
For the quarter ending September 30, the video game publisher posted adjusted earnings of $1.46 per share on net bookings of $1.96 billion. This comfortably beat Wall Street’s consensus estimates of 94 cents per share and $1.73 billion in net bookings. On a year-over-year basis, adjusted earnings surged 121% while net bookings rose 33%.
Take-Two credited its outperformance to the success of its professional basketball game, “NBA 2K6,” and popular mobile titles including “Toon Blast” and “Match Factory.”
However, the company confirmed that its studio, Rockstar Games, requires more time to complete “Grand Theft Auto 6.” The release date has been moved from May 26 to November 19 to allow the team to achieve the “high level of polish players expect and deserve.”
Despite the product delay, Take-Two issued an optimistic forecast. For the current third quarter, it anticipates adjusted earnings of 80 cents per share on net bookings of $1.58 billion. The company also raised its full-year guidance for the fiscal year ending March 31, now projecting net bookings between $6.4 billion and $6.5 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.17 per share. Both forecasts exceed current Wall Street models.
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