Roblox misses quarterly expectation for bookings
2022.08.09 23:41
FILE PHOTO: A child looks back at a banner for Roblox, displayed to celebrate the company’s IPO, on the front facade of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 10, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
(Reuters) -Roblox Corp missed estimates for quarterly bookings on Tuesday, as the gaming platform faced a slowdown in the pandemic-fueled surge in spending for its games including “Jailbreak” and “Adopt Me!”.
Shares of the San Mateo, California-based company fell 11% in extended trading.
During the pandemic, more people turned to gaming as an alternate source of entertainment giving a boost to the mobile gaming sector, one of the largest sub-segment of the broader video gaming industry.
However, with many options of entertainment available again following subsequent re-opening, gaming demand has slowly subsided. According to data from analytics firm SensorTower, overall mobile game revenue in the United States fell by 9.6% to $11.4 billion year-over-year during the first half of this year, while downloads declined by 2.5%.
Earlier in June, Roblox also reported a hit from a stronger U.S. dollar with the company saying the impact of foreign currency fluctuations hurt its May bookings and led to a reduction of about 4% in the bookings growth rate.
The company, famous for its game “MeepCity”, posted net bookings of $639.9 million in the second quarter, compared with $665.5 million a year earlier. Analysts were expecting net bookings of $644.4 million, according to Refinitiv data.
Net loss attributable to common stockholders widened to $176.44 million, or 30 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, from $140.13 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier.
