: Roblox stock zooms higher after earnings as bookings beat estimates

Shares of Roblox Corp. RBLX were surging in premarket trading Wednesday after the gaming company topped bookings expectations for the holiday quarter. The company posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $290 million, or 48 cents a share, whereas it posted a loss of $144 million, or 25 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts tracked by FactSet were expecting a 51-cent loss per share. Roblox’s revenue rose to $579 million from $569 million, while analysts were anticipating $648 million in GAAP revenue. The company’s bookings, which better reflect sales of virtual currency, came in at $899 million, while analysts were projecting $871 million. “Bookings accelerated meaningfully in December and January, with year over year growth exceeding 20% in both months,” Chief Financial Officer Michael Guthrie said in a release. “Growth was strong across all geographies and age groups with particular strength among users above 17 years old.” For January 2023, the company estimates revenue of $213 million to $216 million and bookings of $267 million to $271 million. Prior to the report, Wedbush analyst Nick McKay wrote that his first-quarter bookings expectations factored in about $250 million in January contributions. “The debate around January is tied to the mystery around the drivers of the December-to-remember,” he wrote Monday.

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