July 29th, 2025

The earnings call highlighted a strong start to the fiscal year with growth in key segments like EA SPORTS and Apex Legends. However, some challenges were noted, including a decline in live services net bookings and increased costs. The guidance for Q2 reflects some expected headwinds, but the overall outlook remains positive with a robust slate of upcoming releases.

Company Guidance

During the Electronic Arts First Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Conference Call, the company reported a strong performance, exceeding the high end of their guidance, with net bookings of $1.3 billion, up 3% year-over-year. The company highlighted their EA SPORTS business as a key strength, with Global Football net bookings up mid-single digits and FC Mobile achieving over 50 million installs, underscoring significant engagement and growth. Apex Legends also performed well with sequential growth driven by strong player retention. EA's net revenue for the quarter was $1.67 billion, with a gross margin of 83.3% and operating expenses at $1.12 billion, resulting in earnings per share of $0.79. They returned $423 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. Looking ahead, EA has significant upcoming releases, including Battlefield 6, and expects net bookings for the second quarter to be between $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion, despite a forecasted 9-13% decline primarily due to the phasing of EA SPORTS FC deluxe edition content.