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Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Earnings: Call of Duty Sales Lag, Stock Gains on Buyback

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Activision Blizzard Inc. just released its fourth-quarter earnings results, posting earnings of $0.33 per share and revenue of $2.014 billion.  

ATVI was up 9.49% to $43.50 in after-hours trading shortly after its earnings report was released.

Currently, ATVI has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but it is subject to change following the release of the company’s latest earnings report. Here are 5 key statistics from this just announced report below.

Activision Blizzard:                             

Beat revenue estimates. The company saw GAAP revenue figures of $2.014 billion. Its adjusted/non-GAAP revenue figure came in at $2.452 billion, beating our estimate of $2.307 billion.

ATVI reported GAAP earnings of 33 cents per share. Activision’s GAAP results fluctuated this year due to new accounting practices throughout the video game industry.

Activision Blizzard applauded the success of its new Overwatch franchise, but it noted that Infinity Ward, the studio in charge of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare delivered a lower quality product with the game, which negatively impacted sales.

The company also announced a $1 billion stock buyback program and raised its quarterly dividend to 30 cents from 26 cents.

"The launch of Blizzard's Overwatch created a major new franchise, while King's mobile advertising tests are very promising as the basis for meaningful new revenue streams," said CEO Bobby Kotick.

Here’s a graph that looks at Activision’s latest earnings performance:

Activision Blizzard, Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Activision Blizzard, Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Activision Blizzard, Inc Quote

Activision Blizzard is a worldwide pure-play online and console game publisher with leading market positions across all categories of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry. Activision Blizzard's portfolio includes best-selling video games such as Call of Duty, StarCraft, and Destiny.

Check back later for our full analysis on Activision Blizzard’s latest earnings report!

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