Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) is set to report FQ1 2016 earnings this Thursday after the markets close. With the Estimize EPS consensus at $0.11 and the Wall Street consensus at $0.04, it appears that EA may beat its earnings expectations for the 9th quarter in a row. In terms of revenue, the Estimize consensus also outpaces that of Wall Street, at $705M vs $673M respectively.
EA is looking to make a big splash with the release of Star Wars Battlefront in November, right before Disney (NYSE:DIS) releases the newest addition to the Star Wars film franchise. Consumer expectations are incredibly high, making it one of the most anticipated video games of the 2015 year. EA is projecting sales of between 9-10 million units from its initial release date to April 2016.
The company consists of three major segments: EA Studios, EA Mobile, and EA Maxis. For the current quarter, analysts are expecting EA’s signature titles to drive its top and bottom line growth. Games such as Mass Effect, Battlefield, and sports series like Madden and FIFA are expected to be the force behind EA’s strong numbers.
Electronic Arts has outperformed its competitor Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) on the Nasdaq. With year-to-date price returns of 53.12%, EA has crushed the S&P (2.71%) as well as Activision (29.20%). Both stocks have followed similar patterns of market activity, with EA outperforming Activision every step of the way.
While EA is almost sure to post a beat tomorrow, keep an eye on the company, as the figures from Battlefront start to factor into their top and bottom-line. Although it may appear that these numbers have begun to price themselves into EA’s stock, pay close attention, as the company attempts to continue its steady growth.