EA's Quarterly Results: We Lead The Next Generation Pack

[Karloff]

EA's Quarterly Results: We Lead The Next Generation Pack

Battlefield 4? No, no, everything's fine.

"We have taken an early leadership position on the next-gen consoles [in Q3 2014]," boasts EA's Andrew Wilson. In the US, EA achieved a 40% segment share on the PS4, 30% on the Xbox One, and "every gamer in Europe that bought a next-gen console is playing one of EA's next-gen games," presumably FIFA 14. Yes, there was a very slight dip in revenue; EA expected to make $1.65 billion, and only made $1.57 billion in non-GAAP revenue. But, Wilson insists, this has more to do with weakness in last generation sales across the board in Q3, when Xbox One and PS4 came into ascendance. That will affect the yearly profit margin, but it's not something EA's too worried about now the shiny new hotness is here.

Battlefield 4 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130664-Law-Firm-Files-Class-Action-Suit-Against-EA-Over-Battlefield-4] wasn't a subject that could be avoided. However EA did its best to sweep its remains under the rug, with Wilson saying that its launch was "a complex effort" across multiple platforms and, while there were issues, The Battlefield Team acted swiftly to redress the problem. "And they continue to make refinements as part of our live service to ensure a great game experience for all Battlefield 4 players." So that's all right then.

When asked to comment on Battlefield 4's current sales trends, Peter Moore admitted sales were a little sluggish, but attributed it to decline in Xbox 360 and PS3 sales in general, something that was happening across the board and not just to EA's troubled modern warfare title. "This game has got a long tail, as you well know, and we will continue to be able to sell this effectively throughout the next fiscal year," said Moore.

Source: Seeking Alpha [http://seekingalpha.com/article/1974861-electronic-arts-management-discusses-q3-2014-results-earnings-call-transcript?page=1]


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[HorrendusOne]

EA is one of those bullshitters that has spewed so much crap that over time they have relapsed into completely believing their own bs.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

This would be more impressive if there was actually competition out there. There are barely any games for the new consoles, and with FIFA, of course EA is going to have a commanding lead. Let's see if they still hold that lead two years from now, when there's a selection of stuff to play. Then I'll be impressed.

 

[lacktheknack]

EA is one of those bullshitters that has spewed so much crap that over time they have relapsed into completely believing their own bs.

And YOU'RE one of those people who hates EA so hard that you're willing to stick your fingers in your ears and say wrong things just so you can hate them.

There's nothing inherently incorrect about anything he just said, no matter what you want to believe. About the only thing that can be said against them is that they have no competition, but that'll solve itself in a year.

 

[Vivi22]

Yes, there was a very slight dip in revenue; EA expected to make $1.65 billion, and only made $1.57 billion in non-GAAP revenue.

Non-GAAP revenue? Well, that's a useless number then. Amazing that they had a dip in it when they could practically define non-GAAP revenue anyway they please.

 

[josemlopes]

Well, makes sense as they released a lot of cross gen games in comparison to other publishers. I guess the only other big ones would be Ubisoft and first party publishers.

 

[HorrendusOne]

About the only thing that can be said against them is that they have no competition, but that'll solve itself in a year.

How can anyone afford to compete with EA when they pay out $750 million to $850 million for the rights on ESPN brand games alone?

YOU'RE the type of person to attempt to unjust anything I say by attacking me rather than look at cold hard actions that pertain to the topic.

Now what about all of EA's other fun stuff you probably don't want to talk about? (Shovelware, malicious acquisition, etc) Because you think this is personal for some reason, btw I don't hate EA, I simply care more about the passing of factual information more than anything else. I can also safely predict you'r next reply to me would start with discrediting me without anything backing you up, reiterating on your pre-made points, and will contribute nothing to the actual topic. So go do some homework before you wish to engage in intelligent conversation.

 

[CriticalMiss]

every gamer in Europe that bought a next-gen console is playing one of EA's next-gen games

Well that's not true. My friend with a PS4 has Knack, Killzone and Pirates of the Asscreed. Maybe the UK isn't in Europe according to EA?

 

[lacktheknack]

About the only thing that can be said against them is that they have no competition, but that'll solve itself in a year.

How can anyone afford to compete with EA when they pay out $750 million to $850 million for the rights on ESPN brand games alone?

YOU'RE the type of person to attempt to unjust anything I say by attacking me rather than look at cold hard actions that pertain to the topic.

Now what about all of EA's other fun stuff you probably don't want to talk about? (Shovelware, malicious acquisition, etc) Because you think this is personal for some reason, btw I don't hate EA, I simply care more about the passing of factual information more than anything else. I can also safely predict you'r next reply to me would start with discrediting me without anything backing you up, reiterating on your pre-made points, and will contribute nothing to the actual topic. So go do some homework before you wish to engage in intelligent conversation.

Well, that was uncalled for.

I said "Nothing in the opening post was notably untrue", so... why would you bring up a bunch of irrelevant topics? Why not leave those for an EA thread that's actually ABOUT said topics?

"Pertaining to the topic", indeed.

The topic at hand is that EA is currently in the lead in the next generation (true), they're still working to smooth out the hilarious failure that was Battlefield 4's launch (fine) and that they aren't worried about the slightly sluggish (OK then).

So how in the Sam Hill did the above put you instantly into "They're so full of BS that they believe their own" ranting?

Allow me to reword the chunk that you cut out of my full post: The only thing that can be said against them pertaining to their latest statement is that they don't have any competition at the moment. I don't see how no one else being able to afford ESPN branding is remotely relevant to that.

Also, if "intelligent conversation" begins with vicious random verbal assault, I don't want it.

(For the record, about you saying that you don't hate EA... yeah, not buying that for a second.)

 

[HorrendusOne]

stuff-

"every gamer in Europe that bought a next-gen console is playing one of EA's next-gen games,"

Not a fact, henceforth it is bs. My 1st comment was that EA is bs'ing, which you discredit by blaming my "hate" of EA which you pushed onto me which was the only verbal insult between us.

What point are you even trying to actually make past that?

 

[lacktheknack]

stuff-

"every gamer in Europe that bought a next-gen console is playing one of EA's next-gen games,"

Not a fact, henceforth it is bs. My 1st comment was that EA is bs'ing, which you discredit by blaming my "hate" of EA which you pushed onto me which was the only verbal insult between us.

What point are you even trying to actually make past that?

Well, if you're being pedantic about hyperbole (because apparently that's still a thing people do), then you should have clarified that in your first post. -___-

As for what point I'm trying to make, I've started pouncing people who make loaded statements at EA without obvious reason. Attacking EA is an easy thing to do for the intellectually lazy and people who like forgetting good news, and I'm sick of it at this point.

But if you're going to maintain that your first post here is totally a reasonable response to a statement of effective hyperbole and totally not rooted in general disdain, then by all means, go ahead and maintain that.

Also, I wasn't talking about verbal insult between us, I'm talking your verbal insult against EA. "Evil" or not, you've got impressive balls if you're going to call that "intelligent conversation".

 

[lacktheknack]

every gamer in Europe that bought a next-gen console is playing one of EA's next-gen games

Well that's not true. My friend with a PS4 has Knack, Killzone and Pirates of the Asscreed. Maybe the UK isn't in Europe according to EA?

See above. "Every player" is not a direct fact, it's a statement that translates to "very sizable chunk". This is generally understood by people who aren't completely hung up on pedantics (unless EA is involved, of course).

 

[CriticalMiss]

every gamer in Europe that bought a next-gen console is playing one of EA's next-gen games

Well that's not true. My friend with a PS4 has Knack, Killzone and Pirates of the Asscreed. Maybe the UK isn't in Europe according to EA?

See above. "Every player" is not a direct fact, it's a statement that translates to "very sizable chunk". This is generally understood by people who aren't completely hung up on pedantics (unless EA is involved, of course).

Then they should have said 'Most gamers in Europe...' or 'Many gamers in Europe...'.

 

[godofallu]

Yeah let's take a look at the net income. Forget revenue.

Didn't EA have a net loss of cash over the last 5 years? I wonder if they managed to turn a profit of not this year.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

every gamer in Europe that bought a next-gen console is playing one of EA's next-gen games

Well that's not true. My friend with a PS4 has Knack, Killzone and Pirates of the Asscreed. Maybe the UK isn't in Europe according to EA?

See above. "Every player" is not a direct fact, it's a statement that translates to "very sizable chunk". This is generally understood by people who aren't completely hung up on pedantics (unless EA is involved, of course).

Perhaps he says that because EA have sold an equal or greater number of games to the number of next gen. consoles

(E.G. 2.5 million next-gen consoles sold, 2.5 - 3 million EA games sold)

I guess in that situation saying that every next gen gamer has an EA game is technically true from a certain point of view...

 

[Strazdas]

every gamer in Europe that bought a next-gen console is playing one of EA's next-gen games

Wow, EA just managed to out-arrogance Microsoft. i didnt think this was possible.

Yeah let's take a look at the net income. Forget revenue.

Didn't EA have a net loss of cash over the last 5 years? I wonder if they managed to turn a profit of not this year.

net loss of cash doesnt meant much. net loss of revenue would be telling.

their investors website is confusing and i didnt listen to the audio report they had there, but it seems that latest actual data that is considered as "correct" and not just "prediction" is actually from middle of 2013. http://investor.ea.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=712515-13-37
They are making profit, a lot of it, but their pure cash flow is decreasing. however higher profit with lower cash flow means they are just more efficient actually.

 

[godofallu]

every gamer in Europe that bought a next-gen console is playing one of EA's next-gen games

Wow, EA just managed to out-arrogance Microsoft. i didnt think this was possible.

Yeah let's take a look at the net income. Forget revenue.

Didn't EA have a net loss of cash over the last 5 years? I wonder if they managed to turn a profit of not this year.

net loss of cash doesnt meant much. net loss of revenue would be telling.

their investors website is confusing and i didnt listen to the audio report they had there, but it seems that latest actual data that is considered as "correct" and not just "prediction" is actually from middle of 2013. http://investor.ea.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=712515-13-37
They are making profit, a lot of it, but their pure cash flow is decreasing. however higher profit with lower cash flow means they are just more efficient actually.

Not to be rude but it's impossible to have a net loss of revenue.

I suppose I should thank you though. 222 million was the net income for that report. Up from 201 million last year which answered my question.