By Gabriel Madway
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue and earnings, but its typically conservative forecast for the holiday quarter lagged Wall Street estimates.
Activision is set to launch two of the biggest games of the year in the coming weeks, the newest 'Call of Duty' title and a much-anticipated update of its multiplayer online game, 'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.'
Chief Executive Bobby Kotick told Reuters he is confident in the company's releases for the holiday season. Although he declined to provide specific predictions for 'Call of Duty: Black Ops,' Kotick said he expected it to be the biggest entertainment launch of the year.
Last year's 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' set a record with first-day sales of 4.7 million copies.
Activision on Thursday reported third-quarter net earnings of $51 million, or 4 cents a share, up from $15 million, or 1 cent a share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding items, Activision earned 12 cents a share, higher than the 9 cents a share expected by analysts on average, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue came in at $745 million, while non-GAAP revenue rose 14 percent to $857 million, above Wall Street's estimates of $750 million.
Sales in the quarter were helped by the release of PC strategy game 'StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty,' which sold more than 3 million units in its first month.
For the current quarter, Activision forecast adjusted earnings of 47 cents a share on non-GAAP revenue of $2.2 billion. That compares with analysts' expectation for a profit of 50 cents a share on revenue of $2.31 billion.
(Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) Keywords: ACTIVISION/ (gabriel.madway@thomsonreuters.com; +1 415 677 2536) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue and earnings, but its typically conservative forecast for the holiday quarter lagged Wall Street estimates.
Activision is set to launch two of the biggest games of the year in the coming weeks, the newest 'Call of Duty' title and a much-anticipated update of its multiplayer online game, 'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.'
Chief Executive Bobby Kotick told Reuters he is confident in the company's releases for the holiday season. Although he declined to provide specific predictions for 'Call of Duty: Black Ops,' Kotick said he expected it to be the biggest entertainment launch of the year.
Last year's 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' set a record with first-day sales of 4.7 million copies.
Activision on Thursday reported third-quarter net earnings of $51 million, or 4 cents a share, up from $15 million, or 1 cent a share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding items, Activision earned 12 cents a share, higher than the 9 cents a share expected by analysts on average, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue came in at $745 million, while non-GAAP revenue rose 14 percent to $857 million, above Wall Street's estimates of $750 million.
Sales in the quarter were helped by the release of PC strategy game 'StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty,' which sold more than 3 million units in its first month.
For the current quarter, Activision forecast adjusted earnings of 47 cents a share on non-GAAP revenue of $2.2 billion. That compares with analysts' expectation for a profit of 50 cents a share on revenue of $2.31 billion.
(Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) Keywords: ACTIVISION/ (gabriel.madway@thomsonreuters.com; +1 415 677 2536) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.