EA Sports FC 24 beats expectations, leads EA to Q3 growth
Football series grew 7% for the quarter despite rebrand as EA sees profits jump 42%
Electronic Arts released its earnings report for Q3 FY24 (the three months ended December 31, 2023), with the firm seeing modest top-line growth but a more considerable jump from the bottom line that was higher than the company's outlook range.
The numbers
- Revenue: $1.95 billion (up 3% year-over-year)
- Net income: $290 million (up 42% year-over-year)
- Net bookings: $2.37 billion (up 1% year-over-year)
The highlights
EA saw at least some growth from all its key performance indicators during the holiday quarter, but the publisher was likely most pleased by EA Sports FC.
"EA Sports FC outperformed expectations again this quarter, delivering 7% year-over-year net bookings growth, as momentum continued through the FC brand transition," said EA CFO Stuart Canfield.
EA Sports FC 24 launched in September and was the first installment under the new banner since EA parted ways with FIFA. In addition to the name change, the franchise was also being compared against a 2022 that was boosted from interest in the FIFA World Cup.
"We will continue to build upon the strength within our portfolio, while prioritizing investments in our largest opportunities for multi-year growth," Canfield said.
The only other product for which financial performance was addressed was the Madden franchise, which saw net bookings grow 5% year-over-year in the third quarter.
EA's live services collectively set a new record for the company with Q3 revenues of $1.71 billion, up 3% year-over-year.
Live services now make up 73% of EA's revenues.
On the other hand, full game sales were down 5% year-over-year to $654 million, and down 27% from the third quarter of two years ago.
EA's major releases for this Q3 were NHL 24, UFC 5, and WRC 23, compared to last year's NHL 23 and Need for Speed Unbound, and the two years ago line up of NHL 22 and Battlefield 2042.
Looking ahead, EA nudged up its full-year forecasts slightly, with net revenues now expected between $7.41 billion and $7.71 billion.
Net income is expected between $1.15 billion and $1.27 billion.