Electronic Arts Now Has 580 Million Players and Just Raised Its Dividend 12%
Shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) surged higher following a better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. The company says it now has 580 million unique player accounts, and these players appear to be spending more time playing games.
In fiscal 2022 (which ended in March), total net bookings (a non-GAAP measure of revenue) grew 21% to reach $7.5 billion for the year. While this growth was boosted by last year's acquisition of Glu Mobile, EA's FIFA soccer game and competitive esports shooter Apex Legends continue to look strong. Most importantly, FIFA finished the fiscal year with over 150 million player accounts, highlighting the importance of the franchise to EA's growth.
Despite losing the license to produce soccer games under the FIFA brand recently, EA is in growth mode and returning cash to shareholders through dividends. As a sign of confidence in the future, EA increased its quarterly dividend by 12% to $0.19 per share, payable on June 22 to shareholders of record on June 8.
Source Fool.com
