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EA revenue beats estimates on 'Apex Legends' boost, shares jump
May 7 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly revenue on Tuesday, riding on the popularity of its latest battle royale sensation, "Apex Legends", and other games, sending its shares up 8 percent in extended trading.
EA launched "Apex Legends" and "Battlefield V Firestorm" during the quarter to cash in on the popularity of battle royale games such as "PUBG" and Epic Games' "Fortnite".
EA's battle royale game had 50 million sign ups in just a month, suggesting that the company could withstand competition from "Fortnite", a free-to-play game where up to 100 players fight to be the last person standing.
According to Nielsen-owned gaming research firm SuperData, Apex Legends raked in $92 million from in-game spending across platforms in the month of February, having "the best launch month of any free-to-play game in history".
On an adjusted basis, EA's fourth-quarter revenue was $1.36 billion, beating analysts' average estimates of $1.20 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
However, EA forecast first-quarter adjusted revenue of $690 million, well below analysts' estimates of $807.8 million.
Its full-year adjusted revenue forecast of $5.10 billion was also below estimates of $5.16 billion.
Earlier on Tuesday, EA also said it expanded its EA Access subscription service to Sony's PlayStation 4, starting July.
The service, which has been available on Microsoft's Xbox and PC via Origin since 2014, is priced at $4.99 per month and $29.99 per year.
The company's net income fell to $209 million, or 69 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended March 31 from $607 million, or $1.95 per share, a year earlier.
Source: Reuters
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ea-reven ... 17418.html