Electronic Arts Inc. (EA, Financial) experienced a significant stock decline, dropping 18% in early trading, marking its largest fall since 2008. This drop follows the company's warning about weaker-than-expected financial results due to poor sales of two games released during the holiday season.
The Redwood City, California-based company announced in a preliminary statement that its third-quarter bookings, ending December 31, fell to approximately $2.22 billion, below the anticipated range of $2.4 billion to $2.55 billion. Furthermore, EA lowered its fiscal 2025 bookings forecast to between $7 billion and $7.15 billion, down from the previous guidance of $7.5 billion to $7.8 billion.
Revenue from online services, which includes post-purchase game income, is expected to decline by about 5%, contrary to the initially expected 5% growth. EA attributed much of this decline to its football game, "EA Sports FC 2025," which received mixed reviews since its September release. The company released an updated version of the game this month.
On the New York market, EA's stock opened at $117, reflecting a 12% decrease over the past 12 months. The company is scheduled to release a more comprehensive earnings report on February 4.
