Activision Blizzard Posts Upbeat Q1 Results, Lifts Full-Year Forecast

reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter and lifted its outlook for the full year. For the full year, Activision Blizzard now projects sales of $4.43 billion, versus its earlier outlook of $4.40 billion. The company also lifted its earnings outlook to $1.20 per share from $1.15 per share. For the current quarter, the company expects earnings of $0.07 per share on revenue of $650 million. Analysts had projected earnings of $0.09 per share on revenue of $688 million. The Santa Monica, California-based company posted quarterly net income of 394 million, or $0.53 per share, compared to $293 million, or $0.40 per share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $0.16 per share. Its revenue climbed to $1.28 billion from $1.11 billion, while adjusted revenue slipped to $703 million from $772 million. However, analysts were estimating a profit of $0.07 per share on revenue of $655 million. The average estimate among 27 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.09 per share and revenue of $666.27 million. GAAP net revenue from digital channels came in at $581 million in the quarter, while revenue on a non-GAAP basis came in at $538 million. Activision Blizzard shares fell 1.08 percent to $22.95 in the after-hours trading session.