Electronic Arts Q1 Earnings Decline Year Over Year, Revenues Increase

Electronic Arts EA reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings of 25 cents per share, which decreased 51.9% year over year. Revenues rose 0.7% year over year to $1.67 billion due to an increase in full-game revenues.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings was pegged at 10 cents per share. The consensus mark for revenues was pinned at $1.24 billion.

Net bookings for the fiscal first quarter were $1.3 billion, up 2.9% year over year.

Full-game net bookings were $214 million, up 27% year over year. Live services net bookings were $1.08 billion, down 1% year over year.

Electronic Arts Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Electronic Arts Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Electronic Arts Inc. Quote

Quarter Details of EA

EA’s full-game revenues (17.3% of total revenues) increased 15.6% year over year to $289 million. Full-game download revenues increased 23% year over year to $233 million. Revenues from packaged goods declined 7% year over year to $56 million.

Live services and other revenues (82.7% of total revenues) decreased 2% year over year to $1.38 billion.

Based on platforms, revenues from consoles remained unchanged year over year at approximately $1 billion in the reported quarter. Revenues from PC & Other increased 2% year over year to $374 million. Revenues from the mobile platform remained unchanged year over year at $290 million.

Operating Details of EA

EA’s GAAP gross profit decreased 0.4% from the year-ago quarter’s levels to $1.39 billion. Gross margin contracted 90 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis to 83.3%.

Operating expenses increased 8.5% year over year to $1.12 billion. As a percentage of revenues, operating expenses expanded from 62.2% in the year-ago quarter to 67.1%.

Operating income on a GAAP basis decreased 25.5% year over year to $271 million. The operating margin contracted from 21.9% in the year-ago quarter to 16.2% in the reported quarter.

Electronic Arts’ Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

As of June 30, 2025, EA had $1.63 billion in cash and short-term investments compared with $2.25 billion as of March 31, 2025.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $17 million for the quarter and $1.98 billion for the trailing 12 months.

EA repurchased 3 million shares for $375 million during the quarter under the stock repurchase program, bringing the total for the trailing 12 months to 17.8 million shares for $2.5 billion.

The company has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 19 cents per share of the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on Sept. 17, 2025, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on Aug. 27, 2025.

Electronic Arts Provides Guidance for Q2 & FY26

For second-quarter fiscal 2026, EA expects GAAP revenues between approximately $1.75 billion and $1.85 billion and earnings per share in the range of 29 cents to 46 cents. Net bookings are expected between $1.8 billion and $1.9 billion.

For fiscal 2026, EA expects revenues in the range of $7.1-$7.5 billion and earnings in the band of $3.09-$3.79 per share.

The company expects net bookings for fiscal 2026 between $7.6 billion and $8 billion. Operating cash flow is estimated in the band of $2.2-$2.4 billion.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

EA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are Accel Entertainment ACEL, Laureate Education LAUR and Revolve Group RVLV, each flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Accel Entertainment have gained 20.7% year to date. Accel Entertainment is set to report second-quarter 2025 results on Aug. 5.

Shares of Laureate Education have risen 25.4% year to date. Revolve Group is slated to report second-quarter 2025 results on July 31.

Shares of Revolve Group have lost 36.9% year to date. Revolve Group is set to report second-quarter 2025 results on Aug. 5.

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