Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI): Here’s What You Should Watch

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) reported earnings on May 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) crushed expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share increased significantly. GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly.

Gross margins dropped, operating margins increased, net margins grew.

Revenue details
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) tallied revenue of $1.32 billion. The 22 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw revenue of $704.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 13% higher than the prior-year quarter’s $1.17 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.17. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.11 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.17 for Q1 were 183% higher than the prior-year quarter’s $0.06 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.40 for Q1 were 18% higher than the prior-year quarter’s $0.34 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 68.6%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 44.3%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 34.4%, 160 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter’s average estimate for revenue is $608.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.05.

Next year’s average estimate for revenue is $4.29 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.85.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 6,899 members out of 7,126 rating the stock outperform, and 227 members rating it underperform. Among 1,505 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,472 give Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) a green thumbs-up, and 33 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Activision Blizzard is buy, with an average price target of $15.76.

The article Activision Blizzard Outruns Estimates Again originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool recommends Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI). The Motley Fool owns shares of Activision Blizzard.

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