Today Electronic Arts released its financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2021, related to the period between July 1 and September 30, 2021.
You can find a summary of the publisher’s performance in the table below.
Both revenue and net income showcased significant improvements year-on-year, overturning the income trend from the previous quarter.
The press release also includes a statement from chief executive officer Andrew Wilson, boasting that this quarter was the strongest Q2 of the company’s history.
“This was the strongest second quarter in the history of Electronic Arts, with more players around the world joining and engaging in our leading franchises, new launches and live services.
Thanks to our incredibly talented teams, we’re excited to deliver more amazing experiences this holiday season, and connect hundreds of millions of players around the world through our EA SPORTS games, Apex Legends, Battlefield 2042 and more.”
Chief operating and financial officer Blake Jorgensen also provided a comment, mentioning that EA Sports games and Apex Legends were the drivers behind the strong performance. This also prompted the publisher to increase its full-year predictions.
“EA delivered another strong quarter, primarily driven by our EA SPORTS titles and Apex Legends. Based on our confidence in our franchises and live services, we are again raising guidance this quarter. We’re positioned for a strong holiday season driven by our exciting Battlefield 2042 game, with growth drivers in place for this year, next year, and beyond.”
We then get a list of highlights of the publisher’s performance and financial metrics for the quarter. We hear that the beta of Battleield 2042 was played by 7.7 million players.
Selected Operating Highlights and Metrics
- Net bookings for the trailing twelve months was $7.077 billion, up 27% year-over-year.
- In the first six months of the fiscal year, approximately 100 million players have engaged with our EA SPORTS global football franchise across all platforms.
- Apex Legends Season 9 and Season 10 each respectively set new marks for the highest active players since Season 1.
- The Battlefield 2042 Open Beta had 7.7 million players.
- Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes surpassed 100 million players life to date.
Selected Financial Highlights and Metrics
- Net cash provided by operating activities was $64 million for the quarter and $1.416 billion for the trailing twelve months.
- EA repurchased 2.3 million shares for $325 million during the quarter, bringing the total for the last twelve months to 9.5 million shares for $1.301 billion.
- EA paid a cash dividend of $0.17 per share during the quarter.
If you’d like to compare, you can check out the results for the previous quarter, which were announced in August.