Roblox reports third quarter 2022 financial results
San mateo, calif.--(business wire)--roblox corporation (nyse: rblx), a global platform bringing millions of people together through shared experiences, released its third quarter 2022 financial and operational results today as well as key metrics for the month of october 2022. separately, roblox posted a letter to shareholders and supplemental materials on the roblox investor relations website at ir.roblox.com. third quarter 2022 financial and operational highlights revenue was $517.7 million, up 2% year over year1 net cash provided by operating activities of $67.1 million; free cash flow was $(67.7) million bookings were $701.7 million, up 10% year over year, and up 15% year over year on a constant currency basis average daily active users (daus) were 58.8 million, up 24% year over year hours engaged were 13.4 billion, up 20% year over year average bookings per dau (abpdau) was $11.94, down 11% year over year for october 2022 key metric estimates, please refer to our q3 2022 shareholder letter at ir.roblox.com. “we are delivering strong growth across our core operating metrics, powered by a growing developer community creating high-quality experiences that appeal to a broad, global audience,” said david baszucki, chief executive officer of roblox. “we are creating innovative technologies to enable deeper forms of immersion, communication and expression to further enhance the value of the platform.” “we are pleased with the third-quarter growth in users, engagement and bookings, which demonstrates the significant progress we are making on key platform initiatives such as aging up and international growth,” said michael guthrie, chief financial officer of roblox. “at the same time, we are continuing a disciplined capital allocation strategy focused on maximizing long-term shareholder value.” earnings q&a session roblox will host a live q&a session to answer questions regarding their third quarter 2022 results on wednesday, november 9, 2022 at 5:30 a.m. pacific time / 8:30 a.m. eastern time. the webcast will be open to the public at ir.roblox.com or by clicking here. 1 in q3 2022, our estimated paying user life changed from 25 months to 28 months. based on the carrying amount of deferred revenue as of june 30, 2022, the change resulted in a decrease in revenue of $111.0 million for the three months ended september 30, 2022. forward-looking statements this press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the private securities litigation reform act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding our business, product, strategy and user growth, retention and monetization plans and trends, the plans and advances of our developers, our investment strategy, including our capital allocation strategy, our opportunities for and expectations of improvements in growth rate, particularly bookings, the benefits of our product and operational initiatives, including our “group grid,” our expectation of successfully executing such strategies and plans, our employee recruitment plans, our commitment to contain share dilution, our expectations for our quarterly and monthly financial and operational results and future growth rates, our estimates of infrastructure expenses for the balance of the year, and our expectations of future net losses. these forward-looking statements are made as of the date they were first issued and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. words such as “expect,” “envision,” “anticipate,” “should,” “believe,” “hope,” “target,” “continue,” “project,” “plan,” “goals,” “opportunity,” “estimate,” “potential,” “predict,” “may,” “will,” “might,” “could,” “intend,” “shall,” and “suggest,” and variations of these terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond our control. our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to risks detailed in our filings with the securities and exchange commission (the “sec”), including our annual reports on form 10-k, our quarterly reports on form 10-q and other filings and reports we make with the sec from time to time. in particular, the following factors, among others, could cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: our ability to successfully execute our business and growth strategy; the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to meet our liquidity needs; the impact of our senior notes and any future indebtedness on our business, financial condition and results of operations; the demand for our platform in general; our ability to increase our number of new users and revenue generated from users; our ability to retain and expand our user base; the impact of the covid-19 pandemic and other macro economic trends (including currency exchange rates and inflation) on our business and the easing of restrictions related to the covid-19 pandemic; the fluctuation of our results of operations and our key business measures on a quarterly basis in future periods, including as a result of changes in our accounting estimates; our ability to successfully develop and deploy new technologies to address the needs of our users; our ability to maintain and enhance our brand and reputation; our ability to hire and retain talent; news or social media coverage about roblox, including but not limited to coverage that presents, or relies on, inaccurate, misleading, incomplete, or otherwise damaging information; any breach or access to user or third-party data; and our ability to maintain the security and availability of our platform. additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations is included in the reports we have filed or will file with the sec, including our annual reports on form 10-k and our quarterly reports on form 10-q. the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. we anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change and all of our key metrics estimates are subject to normal quarter end review and potential adjustments. we undertake no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. these forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results and quarterly performance may materially differ from aggregation of the monthly key metrics for each month within the quarter. september 30, december 31, 2022 2021 $ 3,021,507 $ 3,004,300 185,831 307,349 72,925 32,091 387,817 406,025 3,668,080 3,749,765 525,928 271,352 452,852 221,285 204,921 137,524 53,655 59,666 130,453 118,071 2,435 2,933 $ 5,038,324 $ 4,560,596 $ 45,099 $ 64,395 273,832 180,769 168,367 163,906 1,750,860 1,758,022 2,238,158 2,167,092 960,924 616,834 425,973 194,616 988,663 987,723 13 1,408 4,613,731 3,967,673 59 58 2,041,042 1,568,638 997 62 (1,618,381 ) (983,941 ) 423,717 584,817 876 8,106 424,593 592,923 $ 5,038,324 $ 4,560,596 three months ended september 30, nine months ended september 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 $ 517,707 $ 509,336 $ 1,646,048 $ 1,350,412 126,437 130,015 405,226 344,882 151,470 129,952 441,740 378,604 190,986 117,387 490,576 320,509 235,551 138,245 625,070 359,637 81,165 51,584 217,613 243,637 32,105 19,599 87,708 58,591 817,714 586,782 2,267,933 1,705,860 (300,007 ) (77,446 ) (621,885 ) (355,448 ) 12,764 28 17,206 59 (10,005 ) - (29,895 ) - (4,302 ) (770 ) (7,732 ) (1,810 ) (301,550 ) (78,188 ) (642,306 ) (357,199 ) 352 (998 ) 350 (976 ) (301,902 ) (77,190 ) (642,656 ) (356,223 ) (4,104 ) (3,188 ) (8,216 ) (7,870 ) $ (297,798 ) $ (74,002 ) $ (634,440 ) $ (348,353 ) $ (0.50 ) $ (0.13 ) $ (1.07 ) $ (0.73 ) 597,779 575,932 593,452 480,357 (1) in q3 2022, our estimated paying user life changed from 25 months to 28 months. based on the carrying amount of deferred revenue and deferred cost of revenue as of june 30, 2022, the change resulted in a decrease in revenue during the three months ended september 30, 2022 by $111.0 million, and a decrease in cost of revenue during the same period by $25.5 million. (2) depreciation of servers and infrastructure equipment included in infrastructure and trust & safety. three months ended september 30, nine months ended september 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 $ (301,902 ) $ (77,190 ) $ (642,656 ) $ (356,223 ) 34,052 19,029 87,545 53,439 161,359 89,319 420,042 221,722 18,815 11,392 49,115 31,936 (1,515 ) 1,121 (34 ) 1,137 318 - 940 - 1,630 47,126 119,948 77,086 2,304 (2,543 ) (8,331 ) (230 ) (15,681 ) 7,763 (42,604 ) (19,501 ) (266 ) 2,288 498 (4,188 ) 21,175 27,141 4,461 36,844 2,642 (36,031 ) 6,982 38,098 - (1,606 ) (579 ) (1,022 ) (11,259 ) (11,413 ) (32,989 ) (24,055 ) 187,991 131,439 336,928 616,375 (32,519 ) (26,669 ) (49,189 ) (134,532 ) 67,144 181,166 250,077 536,886 (133,356 ) (2,963 ) (268,958 ) (48,331 ) - (45,692 ) (6,165 ) (45,692 ) (1,500 ) (7,600 ) (1,500 ) (7,856 ) (134,856 ) (56,255 ) (276,623 ) (101,879 ) 12,830 20,389 42,706 62,278 - - (420 ) - - - (150 ) - - - - 534,286 - - (154 ) - (150 ) - (150 ) - 12,680 20,389 41,832 596,564 1,064 (3 ) 1,921 45 (53,968 ) 145,297 17,207 1,031,616 3,075,475 1,780,262 3,004,300 893,943 $ 3,021,507 $ 1,925,559 $ 3,021,507 $ 1,925,559 - - $ 19,590 - $ 887 - $ 887 - $ 111,121 $ 32,935 $ 111,121 $ 32,935 - $ 31,274 - $ 31,274 - $ 879,113 - $ 879,113 use of non-gaap financial measures this press release and the accompanying tables contain the non-gaap financial measures bookings, free cash flow, and adjusted ebitda. we use this non-gaap financial information to evaluate our ongoing operations, for internal planning and forecasting purposes, and ongoing operating trends for purposes of analyzing the covenants specified in the indenture governing our senior notes due 2030. we believe that this non-gaap financial information may be helpful to investors because it provides consistency and comparability with past financial performance. bookings is defined as revenue plus the change in deferred revenue during the period and other non-cash adjustments. bookings is equal to the amount of virtual currency purchased by users in a given period of measurement. we believe bookings provide a timelier indication of trends in our operating results that are not necessarily reflected in our revenue as a result of the fact that we recognize the majority of revenue over the estimated average lifetime of a paying user. the change in deferred revenue constitutes the vast majority of the reconciling difference from revenue to bookings. by removing these non-cash adjustments, we are able to measure and monitor our business performance based on the timing of actual transactions with our users and the cash that is generated from these transactions. free cash flow represents the net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property, equipment, and intangible assets. we believe that free cash flow is a useful indicator of our unit economics and liquidity that provides information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated from our core operations that, after the purchases of property, equipment, and intangible assets, can be used for strategic initiatives, including investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions, and strengthening our balance sheet. adjusted ebitda is a measure of operating performance used in certain covenant calculations specified in the indenture governing our senior notes due 2030 that is not calculated in accordance with gaap and may not conform to the calculation of ebitda in other circumstances. adjusted ebitda should not be considered as a substitute for net loss as determined in accordance with gaap. we believe that, when considered together with reported amounts, adjusted ebitda is useful to investors and management in understanding our ongoing operations and ongoing operating trends for purposes of analyzing the covenants specified in the indenture governing our senior notes due 2030. non-gaap financial measures have limitations in their usefulness to investors because they have no standardized meaning prescribed by gaap and are not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. in addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate similarly titled non-gaap financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-gaap financial information as a tool for comparison. as a result, our non-gaap financial information is presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with gaap. a reconciliation table of the most comparable gaap financial measure to each non-gaap financial measure used in this press release is included at the end of this release. we encourage investors and others to review our business, results of operations, and financial information in their entirety, not to rely on any single financial measure, and to view these non-gaap measures in conjunction with the most directly comparable gaap financial measure. the following table presents a reconciliation of revenue, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with gaap, to bookings, for each of the periods presented: three months ended september 30, nine months ended september 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 $ 517,707 $ 509,336 $ 1,646,048 $ 1,350,412 187,991 131,439 336,928 616,375 (3,982 ) (2,942 ) (10,152 ) (11,197 ) $ 701,716 $ 637,833 $ 1,972,824 $ 1,955,590 as used in the press release, constant currency is calculated by converting our current period financial results into u.s. dollars using the comparative prior period’s monthly exchange rates for our non-usd currencies. the following table presents a reconciliation of net cash from operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with gaap, to free cash flow, for each of the periods presented: three months ended september 30, nine months ended september 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 (dollars in thousands) (dollars in thousands) $ 67,144 $ 181,166 $ 250,077 $ 536,886 (133,356 ) (2,963 ) (268,958 ) (48,331 ) (1,500 ) (7,600 ) (1,500 ) (7,856 ) $ (67,712 ) $ 170,603 $ (20,381 ) $ 480,699 acquisition of property and equipment primarily includes servers, infrastructure equipment and tenant improvements. the following table presents a reconciliation of consolidated net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with gaap, to adjusted ebitda, for each of the periods presented: three months ended september 30, nine months ended september 30, 2022 2021 2022 2021 $ (301,902 ) $ (77,190 ) $ (642,656 ) $ (356,223 ) (12,764 ) (28 ) (17,206 ) (59 ) 10,005 - 29,895 - 4,302 770 7,732 1,810 352 (998 ) 350 (976 ) 34,052 19,029 87,545 53,439 161,359 89,319 420,042 221,722 187,991 131,439 336,928 616,375 (32,519 ) (26,669 ) (49,189 ) (134,532 ) - - - 50,586 - - - 53,775 $ 50,876 $ 135,672 $ 173,441 $ 505,917 about roblox roblox’s mission is to connect a billion people with optimism and civility. every day, tens of millions of people around the world have fun with friends as they explore millions of immersive digital experiences. all of these experiences are built by the roblox community, made up of millions of creators. we believe in building a safe, civil, and diverse community—one that inspires and fosters creativity and positive relationships between people around the world. for more information, please visit corp.roblox.com. roblox and the roblox logo are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of roblox corporation in the united states and other countries. © 2022 roblox corporation. all rights reserved.
