Roblox reported a big miss on revenue, posting sales of $517.7 million for the third quarter compared to the average analyst estimate of $692 million, and reported a wider than expected loss in the period. Shares tumbled 14% in premarket trading.
Bookings, or sales of the platform’s virtual currency “Robux,” totaled $701.7 million, versus second-quarter’s $640 million.
The company reported a net loss per share of $302 million versus the $204 million average analyst estimate.
Roblox has 58.8 million daily active users and over 13.4 billion engagement hours, compared to 52.2 million daily active user and over 11.3 billion engagement hours in the prior period.
While Roblox is widely considered a web2 game, it’s often included as one of the many metaverse platforms for its ability to allow simultaneous online experiences and chat functions in a virtual world.
The company said personnel costs, excluding stock-based compensation, were up 56% year over year. It said that was teh result of hiring, and outlined plans to continue to hire “for the balance of this year and likely throughout 2023.”
Gaming companies have continue to attract funding amid the slump in crypto asset prices. The number of M&A transactions for NFTs/Gaming has increased for three consecutive quarters, according to The Block Research. Announcements just yesterday included sports fan-focused Eterlast’s $4.5 million raise and Ncsoft, maker of popular multiplayer online games such as Lineage and Guild Wars, contributing $15 million to Mysten Lab.
Unlike other metaverse platforms, however, Roblox does not sell land parcels that can be bought with cryptocurrency. The most expensive metaverse for land is currently Decentraland for a minimum of $3,120 per land parcel, according to The Block’s Data Dashboard.
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Source: https://www.theblock.co/post/184451/roblox-misses-on-revenue-reports-wider-than-expected-loss-in-q3?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss