Tag Archives: ttwo

‘Grand Theft Auto’ maker slays holiday quarter targets

Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO), publisher of the “Grand Theft Auto” video game series, murdered December quarter estimates, but investors arrested its climb into record high territory. Take-Two late Tuesday reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that soundly beat Wall Street estimates. It earned $1.87 a share excluding items, up 10% year over year, on sales of $954 million, up 24%. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted that Take-Two would earn $1.52 a share on sales of $798 million. But Take-Two stock was down 2.5% in midday trading on the stock market today, near 29. Take-Two stock hit an all-time high of 30.80 on Jan. 28. Take-Two’s Q3 got a boost from the launch of “Grand Theft Auto Online” and “Grand Theft Auto 5” for Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox One and Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation 4. Other contributors included “NBA 2K15,” “WWE 2K15,” “Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel” and “Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth.”…

GameStop rises on strong next-generation software sales

Video game retailer GameStop (GME) earned a power-up with its holiday sales report late Tuesday. Investors were enthused by strong sales of video game software in the December quarter. GameStop stock rose 12.4% to 36.84 in early afternoon trading in the stock market today. GameStop’s total global sales for the holiday period ended Jan. 3 were $2.94 billion, down 6.7% compared with the 2013 holiday sales period. GameStop’s (GME) sales were negatively affected by foreign currency exchange rates due to the strong dollar. In constant currency, GameStop’s holiday sales were down 4%. New software sales grew 5.8%, or 8.9% in constant currency. The growth was driven by software for Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox One consoles, led by hot titles such as Activision’s (ATVI) “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare,” Take-Two Interactive Software’s (TTWO) “Grand Theft Auto 5” and Ubisoft’s “Far Cry 4.” Sales of new hardware declined 32%…

Holiday video game sales outlook not looking so hot

Video game sales this holiday season could disappoint because of a weak lineup of new game software and mixed reviews for some recent titles, Pacific Crest Securities said Thursday. In a report on specialty retailer GameStop (GME), Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson said the outlook for this Christmas is “looking increasingly challenged.” While industry consensus is for physical software sales to begin to rebound in GameStop’s January quarter (fiscal Q4), “that looks less and less likely,” Wilson said. Wall Street estimates call for 5% to 10% growth in sales of new software at GameStop. But Wilson is targeting 4% growth. The fourth quarter already has been hurt by delays that have pushed major games into next year. Those games include “Battlefield Hardline” from Electronic Arts (EA) “Evolve” from Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) and “Batman: Arkham Knight” from Time Warner’s (TWX) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Meanwhile, new fall games aren’t inspiring…