Electronic arts reports q2 fy22 financial results
Redwood city, calif.--(business wire)--electronic arts inc. (nasdaq: ea) today announced preliminary financial results for its second fiscal quarter ended september 30, 2021. “this was the strongest second quarter in the history of electronic arts, with more players around the world joining and engaging in our leading franchises, new launches and live services,” said andrew wilson, ceo of electronic arts. “thanks to our incredibly talented teams, we’re excited to deliver more amazing experiences this holiday season, and connect hundreds of millions of players around the world through our ea sports games, apex legends, battlefield 2042 and more.” “ea delivered another strong quarter, primarily driven by our ea sports titles and apex legends,” said cfo blake jorgensen. “based on our confidence in our franchises and live services, we are again raising guidance this quarter. we’re positioned for a strong holiday season driven by our exciting battlefield 2042 game, with growth drivers in place for this year, next year, and beyond.” selected operating highlights and metrics net bookings1 for the trailing twelve months was $7.077 billion, up 27% year-over-year. in the first six months of the fiscal year, approximately 100 million players have engaged with our ea sports™ global football franchise across all platforms. apex legends™ season 9 and season 10 each respectively set new marks for the highest active players since season 1. the battlefield™ 2042 open beta had 7.7 million players. star wars™: galaxy of heroes surpassed 100 million players life to date. selected financial highlights and metrics net cash provided by operating activities was $64 million for the quarter and $1.416 billion for the trailing twelve months. ea repurchased 2.3 million shares for $325 million during the quarter, bringing the total for the last twelve months to 9.5 million shares for $1.301 billion. ea paid a cash dividend of $0.17 per share during the quarter. dividend ea has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share of the company’s common stock. the dividend is payable on december 22, 2021 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on december 8, 2021. quarterly financial highlights 2021 2020 617 282 1,209 869 1,826 1,151 294 185 1.02 0.63 64 61 325 - 2.3 - the following gaap-based financial data2 and tax rate of 18% was used internally by company management to adjust its gaap results in order to assess ea’s operating results: 1,826 - 25 - 494 (22 ) - (2 ) 1,332 22 25 2 992 (30 ) - (147 ) 340 52 25 149 (14 ) - - - 326 52 25 149 287 trailing twelve months financial highlights 2021 2020 1,911 1,686 4,485 3,904 6,396 5,590 785 1,314 1,416 2,041 1,301 674 9.5 6.5 the following gaap-based financial data2 and tax rate of 18% was used internally by company management to adjust its gaap results in order to assess ea’s operating results: 6,396 - 681 - 1,729 (48 ) - (5 ) 4,667 48 681 5 3,579 (89 ) - (489 ) 1,088 137 681 494 (44 ) - - - 1,044 137 681 494 operating metric the following is a calculation of our total net bookings1 for the periods presented: three months ended 2021 2020 2021 2020 1,826 1,151 6,396 5,590 25 (241 ) 681 (13 ) 1,851 910 7,077 5,577 business outlook as of november 3, 2021 our financial expectations for the quarter ending december 31, 2021 and the fiscal year ending march 31, 2022 include estimates of the impact of our completed acquisitions on consolidated results and could be materially impacted as we integrate these acquisitions. fiscal year 2022 expectations – ending march 31, 2022 financial metrics: net revenue is expected to be approximately $6.925 billion. change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) is expected to be approximately $700 million. change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) is expected to be approximately $700 million. net income is expected to be approximately $583 million. diluted earnings per share is expected to be approximately $2.03. operating cash flow is expected to be approximately $1.950 billion. the company estimates a share count of 287 million for purposes of calculating fiscal year 2022 diluted earnings per share. operational metric: net bookings1 is expected to be approximately $7.625 billion. in addition, the following outlook for gaap-based financial data2 and a long-term tax rate of 18% are used internally by ea to adjust our gaap expectations to assess ea’s operating results and plan for future periods: twelve months ending march 31, 2022 gaap guidance acquisition-related expenses change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) stock-based compensation 6,925 - 700 - 1,848 (130 ) - (5 ) 4,110 (145 ) - (545 ) 908 275 700 550 583 287 third quarter fiscal year 2022 expectations – ending december 31, 2021 financial metrics: net revenue is expected to be approximately $1.750 billion. change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) is expected to be approximately $875 million. change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) is expected to be approximately $875 million. net income is expected to be approximately $5 million. diluted earnings per share is expected to be approximately $0.02. the company estimates a share count of 287 million for purposes of calculating third quarter fiscal 2022 diluted earnings per share. operational metric: net bookings1 is expected to be approximately $2.625 billion. in addition, the following outlook for gaap-based financial data2 and a long-term tax rate of 18% are used internally by ea to adjust our gaap expectations to assess ea’s operating results and plan for future periods: 1,750 - 875 - 625 (50 ) - - 1,100 (35 ) - (135 ) 8 85 875 135 5 287 conference call and supporting documents electronic arts will host a conference call on november 3, 2021 at 2:00 pm pt (5:00 pm et) to review its results for the fiscal quarter ended september 30, 2021 and its outlook for the future. during the course of the call, electronic arts may disclose material developments affecting its business and/or financial performance. listeners may access the conference call live through the following dial-in number (866) 324-3683 (domestic) or (509) 844-0959 (international), using the conference code 3697115 or via webcast at ea’s ir website at http://ir.ea.com. ea has posted a slide presentation with a financial model of ea’s historical results and guidance on ea’s ir website. ea will also post the prepared remarks and a transcript from the conference call on ea’s ir website. a dial-in replay of the conference call will be available until november 17, 2021 at 855-859-2056 (domestic) or 404-537-3406 (international) using pin code 3697115. an audio webcast replay of the conference call will be available for one year on ea’s ir website. forward-looking statements some statements set forth in this release, including the information relating to ea’s expectations under the heading “business outlook as of november 3, 2021,” and other information regarding ea's fiscal 2022 and other future expectations contain forward-looking statements that are subject to change. statements including words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “plan,” “predict,” “seek,” “goal,” “will,” “may,” “likely,” “should,” “could” (and the negative of any of these terms), “future” and similar expressions also identify forward-looking statements. these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and reflect management’s current expectations. our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. some of the factors which could cause the company’s results to differ materially from its expectations include the following: the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, sales of the company’s products and services; the company’s ability to develop and support digital products and services, including managing online security and privacy; outages of our products, services and technological infrastructure; the company’s ability to manage expenses; the competition in the interactive entertainment industry; governmental regulations; the effectiveness of the company’s sales and marketing programs; timely development and release of the company’s products and services; the company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits of, and integrate, acquisitions; the consumer demand for, and the availability of an adequate supply of console hardware units; the company’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing platforms; the company’s ability to develop and implement new technology; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; general economic conditions; changes in our tax rates or tax laws; and other factors described in part ii, item 1a of electronic arts’ latest quarterly report on form 10-q under the heading “risk factors”, as well as in other documents we have filed with the securities and exchange commission, including our annual report on form 10-k for the fiscal year ended march 31, 2021. these forward-looking statements are current as of november 3, 2021. electronic arts assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law. in addition, the preliminary financial results set forth in this release are estimates based on information currently available to electronic arts. while electronic arts believes these estimates are meaningful, they could differ from the actual amounts that electronic arts ultimately reports in its quarterly report on form 10-q for the fiscal quarter ended september 30, 2021. electronic arts assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these estimates prior to filing its form 10-q for the fiscal quarter ended september 30, 2021. about electronic arts electronic arts (nasdaq: ea) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. the company develops and delivers games, content and online services for internet-connected consoles, mobile devices and personal computers. in fiscal year 2021, ea posted gaap net revenue of $5.6 billion. headquartered in redwood city, california, ea is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality brands such as ea sports™ fifa, battlefield™, apex legends™, the sims™, madden nfl, need for speed™, titanfall™, plants vs. zombies™ and f1®. more information about ea is available at www.ea.com/news. ea sports, battlefield, need for speed, apex legends, the sims, titanfall and plants vs. zombies are trademarks of electronic arts inc. star wars © & tm 2015 lucasfilm ltd. all rights reserved. john madden, nfl, fifa and f1 are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. 1 net bookings is defined as the net amount of products and services sold digitally or sold-in physically in the period. net bookings is calculated by adding total net revenue to the change in deferred net revenue for online-enabled games. 2 for more information about the nature of the gaap-based financial data, please refer to ea’s form 10-k for the fiscal year ended march 31, 2021. electronic arts inc. and subsidiaries unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations (in $ millions, except per share data) three months ended september 30, six months ended september 30, 2021 2020 2021 2020 net revenue 1,826 1,151 3,377 2,610 cost of revenue 494 286 809 574 gross profit 1,332 865 2,568 2,036 operating expenses: research and development 553 421 1,068 859 marketing and sales 233 156 423 277 general and administrative 176 133 345 269 amortization of intangibles 30 6 70 11 total operating expenses 992 716 1,906 1,416 operating income 340 149 662 620 interest and other income (expense), net (14 ) (10 ) (28 ) (13 ) income before provision for (benefit from) income taxes 326 139 634 607 provision for (benefit from) income taxes 32 (46 ) 136 57 net income 294 185 498 550 earnings per share basic 1.03 0.64 1.75 1.90 diluted 1.02 0.63 1.73 1.88 number of shares used in computation basic 285 289 285 289 diluted 287 293 288 292 results (in $ millions, except per share data) the following table reports the variance of the actuals versus our guidance provided on august 4, 2021 for the three months ended september 30, 2021 plus a comparison to the actuals for the three months ended september 30, 2020. three months ended september 30, 2021 2021 2020 guidance variance actuals actuals net revenue net revenue 1,775 51 1,826 1,151 gaap-based financial data change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games)1 (50 ) 75 25 (241 ) cost of revenue cost of revenue 518 (24 ) 494 286 gaap-based financial data acquisition-related expenses (35 ) 13 (22 ) — stock-based compensation — (2 ) (2 ) (2 ) operating expenses operating expenses 1,030 (38 ) 992 716 gaap-based financial data acquisition-related expenses (40 ) 10 (30 ) (6 ) stock-based compensation (150 ) 3 (147 ) (111 ) income before tax income before tax 212 114 326 139 gaap-based financial data acquisition-related expenses 75 (23 ) 52 6 change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games)1 (50 ) 75 25 (241 ) stock-based compensation 150 (1 ) 149 113 tax rate used for management reporting 18 % 18 % 18 % earnings per share basic 0.37 0.66 1.03 0.64 diluted 0.36 0.66 1.02 0.63 number of shares basic 286 (1 ) 285 289 diluted 288 (1 ) 287 293 1the change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows does not necessarily equal the change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations primarily due to the impact of unrecognized gains/losses on cash flow hedges. electronic arts inc. and subsidiaries unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets (in $ millions) september 30, 2021 march 31, 20212 assets current assets: cash and cash equivalents 1,630 5,260 short-term investments 342 1,106 receivables, net 1,031 521 other current assets 387 326 total current assets 3,390 7,213 property and equipment, net 516 491 goodwill 5,459 2,868 acquisition-related intangibles, net 1,080 309 deferred income taxes, net 2,139 2,045 other assets 435 362 total assets 13,019 13,288 liabilities and stockholders’ equity current liabilities: accounts payable 136 96 accrued and other current liabilities 1,119 1,341 deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) 1,322 1,527 total current liabilities 2,577 2,964 senior notes, net 1,877 1,876 income tax obligations 318 315 deferred income taxes, net 68 43 other liabilities 323 250 total liabilities 5,163 5,448 stockholders’ equity: common stock 3 3 retained earnings 7,855 7,887 accumulated other comprehensive loss (2 ) (50 ) total stockholders’ equity 7,856 7,840 total liabilities and stockholders’ equity 13,019 13,288 2derived from audited consolidated financial statements. electronic arts inc. and subsidiaries unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (in $ millions) three months ended september 30, six months ended september 30, 2021 2020 2021 2020 operating activities net income 294 185 498 550 adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: depreciation, amortization and accretion 94 40 199 77 stock-based compensation 149 113 274 215 change in assets and liabilities receivables, net (458 ) 83 (446 ) 39 other assets 23 (157 ) (51 ) (113 ) accounts payable 61 109 42 106 accrued and other liabilities 52 (30 ) (250 ) (96 ) deferred income taxes, net (168 ) (42 ) (140 ) (32 ) deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) 17 (240 ) (205 ) (307 ) net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 64 61 (79 ) 439 investing activities capital expenditures (43 ) (25 ) (87 ) (63 ) proceeds from maturities and sales of short-term investments 621 724 1,128 1,418 purchase of short-term investments (84 ) (752 ) (369 ) (1,416 ) acquisitions, net of cash acquired (1,405 ) — (3,394 ) — net cash used in investing activities (911 ) (53 ) (2,722 ) (61 ) financing activities proceeds from issuance of common stock 41 40 41 43 cash dividends paid (48 ) — (97 ) — cash paid to taxing authorities for shares withheld from employees (16 ) (8 ) (121 ) (77 ) repurchase and retirement of common stock (325 ) — (650 ) (78 ) net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (348 ) 32 (827 ) (112 ) effect of foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents (13 ) 6 (2 ) 25 change in cash and cash equivalents (1,208 ) 46 (3,630 ) 291 beginning cash and cash equivalents 2,838 4,013 5,260 3,768 ending cash and cash equivalents 1,630 4,059 1,630 4,059 electronic arts inc. and subsidiaries unaudited supplemental financial information and business metrics (in $ millions, except per share data) q2 q3 q4 q1 q2 yoy % fy21 fy21 fy21 fy22 fy22 change net revenue net revenue 1,151 1,673 1,346 1,551 1,826 59 % gaap-based financial data change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games)1 (241 ) 727 144 (215 ) 25 gross profit gross profit 865 1,072 1,027 1,236 1,332 54 % gross profit (as a % of net revenue) 75 % 64 % 76 % 80 % 73 % gaap-based financial data acquisition-related expenses — — 4 22 22 change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games)1 (241 ) 727 144 (215 ) 25 stock-based compensation 2 1 1 1 2 operating income operating income 149 251 175 322 340 128 % operating income (as a % of net revenue) 13 % 15 % 13 % 21 % 19 % gaap-based financial data acquisition-related expenses 6 5 18 62 52 change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games)1 (241 ) 727 144 (215 ) 25 stock-based compensation 113 111 109 125 149 net income net income 185 211 76 204 294 59 % net income (as a % of net revenue) 16 % 13 % 6 % 13 % 16 % gaap-based financial data acquisition-related expenses 6 5 18 62 52 change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games)1 (241 ) 727 144 (215 ) 25 stock-based compensation 113 111 109 125 149 tax rate used for management reporting 18 % 18 % 18 % 18 % 18 % diluted earnings per share 0.63 0.72 0.26 0.71 1.02 62 % number of diluted shares used in computation basic 289 290 288 286 285 diluted 293 292 290 289 287 1the change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows does not necessarily equal the change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations primarily due to the impact of unrecognized gains/losses on cash flow hedges. electronic arts inc. and subsidiaries unaudited supplemental financial information and business metrics (in $ millions) q2 q3 q4 q1 q2 yoy % fy21 fy21 fy21 fy22 fy22 change quarterly net revenue presentations net revenue by composition full game downloads 163 347 185 233 337 107 % packaged goods 119 375 65 89 280 135 % full game 282 722 250 322 617 119 % live services and other 869 951 1,096 1,229 1,209 39 % total net revenue 1,151 1,673 1,346 1,551 1,826 59 % full game 25 % 43 % 19 % 21 % 34 % live services and other 75 % 57 % 81 % 79 % 66 % total net revenue % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % gaap-based financial data full game downloads (2 ) 53 (19 ) (5 ) 35 packaged goods (14 ) 83 (44 ) (35 ) 44 full game (16 ) 136 (63 ) (40 ) 79 live services and other (225 ) 591 207 (175 ) (54 ) total change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) by composition1 (241 ) 727 144 (215 ) 25 net revenue by platform console 714 1,191 879 972 1,198 68 % pc & other 249 326 295 361 377 51 % mobile 188 156 172 218 251 34 % total net revenue 1,151 1,673 1,346 1,551 1,826 59 % gaap-based financial data console (201 ) 619 71 (278 ) (29 ) pc & other (24 ) 73 51 9 26 mobile (16 ) 35 22 54 28 total change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) by platform1 (241 ) 727 144 (215 ) 25 1the change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows does not necessarily equal the change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations primarily due to the impact of unrecognized gains/losses on cash flow hedges. electronic arts inc. and subsidiaries unaudited supplemental financial information and business metrics (in $ millions) q2 q3 q4 q1 q2 yoy % fy21 fy21 fy21 fy22 fy22 change cash flow data operating cash flow 61 1,124 371 (143 ) 64 5 % operating cash flow - ttm 2,041 2,061 1,934 1,413 1,416 (31 %) capital expenditures 25 30 31 44 43 72 % capital expenditures - ttm 131 133 124 130 148 13 % repurchase and retirement of common stock — 326 325 325 325 100 % cash dividends paid — 49 49 49 48 100 % depreciation depreciation expense 32 37 38 40 39 22 % balance sheet data cash and cash equivalents 4,059 4,772 5,260 2,838 1,630 short-term investments 1,972 1,938 1,106 881 342 cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments 6,031 6,710 6,366 3,719 1,972 (67 %) receivables, net 423 778 521 557 1,031 144 % stock-based compensation cost of revenue 2 1 1 1 2 research and development 74 74 71 85 101 marketing and sales 12 11 12 12 15 general and administrative 25 25 25 27 31 total stock-based compensation 113 111 109 125 149 category: company news
