Sports titles drive record quarter for EA

Electronic Arts published its financial results for the second quarter of FY2025, and saw an increase in net bookings driven by its EA Sports portfolio. The company said the results exceeded the high end of its guidance range, resulting in a raised outlook for the full financial year.

The numbers

For the three months ended September 30, 2024

• Revenue: $2.05 billion, up 8% year-on-year
• Net income: $294 million, down 26% year-on-year
• Net bookings: $2.08 billion, up 15% year-on-year

The highlights

EA's net income declined 26% to $294 million compared to the same period in the previous year, despite exceeding expectations in its revenue and net bookings.

EA Sports FC is now in its second year, with the release of EA Sports FC 25 in September. The franchise reached over 130% more players worldwide taking FC Mobile and FC Online into account.

Following the successful launch of EA College Football 25, the company reported that it was the best-selling HD title in North America, and that it had three of the top ten best-selling games over the Q2 period (EA Sports FC 25, EA College Football 25, Madden NFL 25).

Meanwhile, Madden's NFL series is set to exceed $1 billion in net bookings for the financial year, with total hours played up by 140% year-on-year for Q2.

Elsewhere, The Sims 4 saw increased engagement which led to "higher-than-expected net bookings for the franchise" over the quarter, which also saw the release of its 16th expansion Lovestruck.

Apex Legends didn't fare so well, with net bookings falling short of expectations following the launch of its Season 22 Battle Pass. During the earning call's Q&A, CEO Andrew Wilson pushed back against the idea of working on an 'Apex 2.0' to fix the title's issues.

In July, Respawn announced a change in pricing for its Apex Legends battle passes which would only be available to purchase with real-world money. This decision was reversed following backlash from players.

Looking ahead, EA revised its full year guidance and expects net revenue of between $7.4 billion and $7.7 billion, net income between $1.02 billion and $1.15 billion, and net bookings between $7.5 billion and $7.8 billion.

CFO Stuart Canfield Canfield commented: "Exiting the first half of fiscal year 2025, we have strong momentum, enabling us to raise our full year guidance, while also building conviction in our ability to significantly outperform the market through FY27 for net bookings growth. And, as we drive increased scale in our top-line, we expect material margin expansion from FY25 through FY27, even as we continue to invest in the future."

EA Sports FC 25 debuted at the top of Circana's US charts for September, and broke revenue records for any soccer game released to date.