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Roblox cuts bookings outlook on dampened user spending

The weakened guidance arrives as the gaming industry continues to struggle.
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Roblox

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Even though every kid and tween in your life is begging for Robux, Roblox’s digital currency, the numbers aren’t quite adding up for the game maker right now.

In its Q1 earnings report on Thursday, Roblox trimmed its annual bookings forecast, suggesting a pullback on in-game spending.

Roblox anticipates full-year bookings to come in between $4 billion and $4.1 billion, a dip from its previous estimate of $4.1 to $4.3 billion. For Q2, the company forecast bookings between $870 million and $900 million. Analysts expected $929 million in bookings for the quarter, per FactSet.

On a call with analysts, Roblox execs said they saw less growth than expected in Q1. “That is why we made the very difficult internal decision to adjust our bookings guidance,” CEO Dave Baszucki said.

Roblox, which went public in 2021, only recently started providing guidance, doing so for the first time earlier this year.

Roblox shares went tumbling after it reported, but some analysts, like Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, told the Wall Street Journal the reaction seemed “a bit severe,” though “the implication is that they are struggling.”

Electronic Arts also posted disappointing earnings this week, and the gaming industry has laid off employees and closed business this year, but Roblox’s report was far from all doom and gloom.

Revenue for the quarter climbed 22% year over year to $801.3 million. And despite its trimmed bookings forecast, bookings for the quarter totaled $923.8 million, up 19% year over year and in line with analyst expectations. Average daily active users, meanwhile, climbed 17% to 77.7 million, while average monthly payers rose 13% to 15.6 million.

News built for finance pros

CFO Brew helps finance pros navigate their roles with insights into risk management, compliance, and strategy through our newsletter, virtual events, and digital guides.