Performance of EA Sports Games Drives Record Q2 Net Bookings for EA

American Football and Global Football have led Electronic Arts to its best second quarter ever, despite lowered expectations for Apex Legends. The publisher will release Dragon Age: The Veilguard tomorrow.

Electronic Arts has announced its preliminary financial results for the second quarter of its fiscal year ended 30 September 2024.  Net bookings totalled $2.079 billion, approximately €1.919 billion, a new Q2 record and above the upper end of the guidance range.

"EA delivered another strong quarter with record Q2 net bookings, driven by our incredible teams, broad portfolio and technology leadership. The momentum in our business reinforces our strategic vision to deliver innovative experiences and interactive entertainment that deepens and expands engagement across our global communities." - Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA

The American football games EA Sports College Football 25 and EA Sports Madden NFL 25 are expected to exceed $1 billion (€920 million) in net bookings in fiscal year 25. Total hours played in Q2 were up over 140% year-on-year and new players to the community more than doubled year-on-year, according to the publisher. Through September, College Football 25 was the top-selling "HD title" in North America, while EA had three titles in the region's top ten bestsellers. Global football games such as EA Sports FC 25 and EA Sports FC 24 posted live service growth across all platforms in Q2. Total franchise net bookings for FY25 are on track to grow from a record FY24. "We also saw positive results beyond HD, as both FC Mobile and FC Online saw net bookings growth from increased monetization," Stuart Canfield, CFO of EA, said. Exact numbers of players were not given.

The Sims 4 is growing in popularity, with more than 15 million players joining the game over the past year. Net bookings for Apex Legends were below expectations for the quarter. "Following the second half release of the Battle Pass on September 17th, we observed a return to spending conversion levels consistent with previous Seasons," the CFO said.

"Q2 was another successful quarter for EA, exceeding the high end of our guidance range. As a result, we are also raising our FY25 outlook. We remain confident in our ability to drive long-term value creation through increased scale, driving top-line growth, improved margins, and greater cash flow as shared at our Investor Day." - Stuart Canfield, CFO of EA

Net revenue for the quarter were $2.025 billion (€1.87 billion). Twelve month net cash was $2.198 billion (€2.03 billion), up $234 million (€216 million) in this quarter. During the quarter EA bought back 2.6 million shares at a cost of $375 million (€346 million).

For the third quarter, net sales are expected to be in the range of $1.875 billion to $2.025 billion (€1.73 billion to €1.87 billion). During this period, tomorrow to be exact, the company will release Dragon Age: The Veilguard, an action role-playing game developed by Bioware. "It's been ten years since we launched its predecessor, game of the year winner - Dragon Age: Inquisition. Early critic scores are strong and reflect the high quality, depth, and detail in this year's action-packed adventure. We expect Dragon Age to be a great example of how our blockbuster storytelling engages and connects fans in truly unique ways," Wilson says. In September, it was reported that pre-order numbers were "in line with expectations" and that there would be "strong demand" for the latest Dragon Age game.

And a yet-to-be-announced title from an EA partner is scheduled for release in Q4. EA expects net revenues for FY2025, which ends in March 2025, to be approximately $7.400 billion to $7.700 billion (€6.830 billion to €7.106 billion). Further announcements regarding the "online communities" of Battlefield and Skate have been promised for the future.

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