Take-Two Interactive's Outlook Misses Estimates After "Grand Theft Auto VI" Delay

Dow Jones
16 May

Take-Two Interactive Software guided for a loss and lower-than-expected sales in its current fiscal year, which will no longer receive a boost from the next installment of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise.

The outlook sent shares slightly lower in after-hours trading and came as the videogame developer posted a wider net loss--hurt by impairment charges--and higher sales in its latest quarter.

Take-Two's fiscal-year 2026, ending March 31 of next year, was initially set to include a boost from its hotly anticipated "Grand Theft Auto VI." However, the company earlier this month delayed the game's launch to May 26 of next year from this fall as previously announced.

Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said on a call with analysts Thursday that affording Rockstar Games more time to work on the game is a worthy investment. Consumer anticipation for the game is unprecedented, he added, citing a new trailer released last week that broke records with over 475 million views in 24 hours.

The company expects the game to do boffo business upon its release in the company's fiscal 2027, with Zelnick forecasting "record levels of net bookings that will establish a new baseline for our business and set us on a path of enhanced profitability."

Despite missing out on the launch of "Grand Theft Auto VI," Take-Two's fiscal 2026 is still set to benefit from the launch of new games such as "Mafia: The Old Country" and "Borderlands 4." The company's outlook for the year assumes the continuation of positive trends from the recent latest quarter, including what Zelnick called healthy mobile-gaming performance and continuing strength in the company's sporting titles.

Take-Two guided for a per-share loss of $2.45 to $2.79 on sales of $5.95 billion to $6.05 billion in its fiscal 2026, ending March 31 of next year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect earnings of 77 cents a share on revenue of $7.91 billion.

Net bookings, which combine total net revenue and the change in deferred net revenue for online-enabled games, are expected to come in between $5.9 billion and $6 billion.

Shares fell 3.2%, to $224.81, in post-market trading. Through the regular session's close, the stock is up nearly 60% in the past year.

For its current quarter, ending June 30, Take-Two guided for a per-share loss of 65 cents to 78 cents, compared with analyst views for a loss of 74 cents a share. It expects sales of $1.35 billion to $1.4 billion, above analyst projections for $1.26 billion.

For its three months ended March 31, Take-Two logged a net loss of $3.73 billion, or $21.08 a share, compared with a loss of $2.9 billion, or $17.02 a share, a year earlier.

The recent quarter includes a $3.55 billion impairment charge related to goodwill, as well as a $176.3 million charge for acquisition-related intangible assets, the company said.

Revenue increased 13%, to $1.58 billion, topping the $1.55 billion that analysts modeled. Net bookings grew 17%, boosted by games including "NBA 2K25" and "Grand Theft Auto Online."

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