© Reuters Roblox (RBLX) stock surges 16% on pre-orders, earnings beat expectations
By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Roblox (NYSE:NYSE:) are trading more than 16% before market open on Wednesday after the company delivered better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter.
Roblox loss per share was $0.48 on revenue of $579 million. Analysts had expected a loss per share of $0.51 on revenue of $615.5 million. However, reservations – which usually refer to the value of contracts signed with customers – came in at $899.4 million, beating analysts’ expectations of $876.2 million.
Roblox also reported $183 million in adjusted EBITDA, breaking the median analyst estimate of $97.4 million.
Michael Guthrie, Chief Financial Officer of Roblox said: “Pre-bookings accelerated significantly in December and January, with year-over-year growth exceeding 20% in both months. Growth was strong at all. geographic regions and age groups, especially among users over 17 years of age”. .
“When bookings accelerated again in late 2022, we saw an immediate improvement in adjusted EBITDA margins. Over the full year, we were able to make significant investments. on infrastructure, trust and safety largely from cash flow from operations.”
The number of daily active users (DAUs) reached 58.8 million, up 19% year over year. Average bookings per DAU (ABPDAU) was $15.29, down 2% year-on-year.
Roblox also revealed how it does business in January. Revenue is estimated to increase 22-24% year-on-year to $213-216 million. Pre-orders are estimated to increase 19-21% to $267-271M. The average DAU was 65 million, up 19% year-on-year.
“The year 2022 is a year of innovation and invention for Roblox,” said David Baszucki, Founder and CEO of Roblox. “With 65 million daily active users in January, we are working towards our vision of reimagining the way people come together by enabling deeper forms of expression, communication and inclusion. .”
The company also announced that it will stop publishing monthly figures.
Roblox stock is up 25% year-to-date on earnings.
