Zynga (ZNGA) Enriches Mobile Portfolio With Harry Potter Game

Zynga’s (NASDAQ:ZNGA) strong mobile games portfolio has been its major driver in the past year. The company benefited from growth in mobile live services, supported by its five forever franchises, namely CSR Racing, Words With Friends, Zynga Poker, Empires & Puzzles and Merge Dragons!.

Zynga now plans to create new franchises to attract gamers. As part of this plan, the company recently launched Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells in a select few markets. Notably, Puzzle Combat and FarmVille 3 are two other new games, currently in testing phase in the specified markets.

Notably, in 2019, the company’s mobile revenues, which contributed to 94.4% of total revenues, jumped 53% year over year to $1.32 billion. Moreover, mobile bookings surged 69.2% to $1.49 billion.

For 2020, Zynga expects revenues of $1.6 billion and bookings worth $1.75 billion. The top-line growth is expected to be primarily driven by live services. New games set to be launched in the second half of 2020 are also expected to aid revenue growth.

Portfolio Strength to Counter Rising Competition

Zynga is facing stiff competition from the likes of well-established players like Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) in the gaming space. Both companies have a number of popular game franchises to their credit.

EA’s Apex legends, FIFA, Madden NFL, Plants vs. Zombies, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order gained a significant traction from gamers.

Moreover, Activision’s Call of Duty Mobile gained significant popularity. In fourth-quarter 2019, Call of Duty Mobile installs exceeded 150 million. The game ended the quarter as one of the top 15 grossing games in the U.S. app stores.

Nevertheless, Zynga’s expanding portfolio is expected to offset the growing rivalry. Apart from the five forever franchises, the company’s Social Slots and Casual Cards games are helping to fend off competition. Growing fame of Game of Thrones Slots Casino, Hit It Rich! Slots and Wizard of Oz Slots is a key catalyst.

Growing International Footprint to Aid Top Line

Apart from an expanding portfolio, Zynga’s fortifying international footprint is expected to boost the top line. The company’s self-published Empires & Puzzles gained traction in Asia. Additionally, the successful launch of Tiny Royale on Snap’s (NYSE:SNAP) games platform is expected to fuel growth in the long haul.

Notably, in 2019, international revenues accounted for 37.5% of the total revenues, up 300 basis points (bps) from the 2018-level. Moreover, international revenues soared 58.1% year over year to $495.1 million.

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