Oct 29 (Reuters) - Videogame publisher Electronic Arts ( EA )
raised its forecast for fiscal 2025 bookings on Tuesday,
helped by strong performance of its sports titles amid a
cautious spending environment.
EA's sports titles "Madden NFL" and "College Football" show
strong engagement even as the industry navigates a challenging
time marked by higher inflation.
The company now expects full-year bookings in the range of
$7.50 billion to $7.80 billion, compared with its prior forecast
of $7.30 billion to $7.70 billion.
Last month, the company at its investor day said it expects
to achieve the higher end of its annual bookings forecast, with
its football titles expected to record over $1 billion in
bookings in the fiscal year.
"Madden NFL 25" and "College Football 25" dominated U.S.
August video game sales, with the new college sports title
claiming the top-selling title of the year, according to
industry tracker Circana.
To ease investor worries that college football would eat
into the sales of the new Madden title, the company launched the
"EA Sports MVP Bundle," featuring both games. The bundle is also
seeing strong sales, according to Circana.
The company reported net bookings of $2.08 billion for the
second quarter, beating analysts' average estimate of $2.04
billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
EA raised its expectations for annual net income to between
$1.02 billion and $1.16 billion, from $904 million and $1.09
billion.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $2.15 per share,
compared with estimates of $2.02 per share.