Electronic Arts (EA) once again announces record figures for the past quarter. Even revenues from game sales are up compared to the previous year – but not everything is rosy for the publisher.
The word “record” can be found in almost every EA quarterly report from the last few years – and it is also used for Q2 of the 2025 fiscal year. The Californian video game giant’s net bookings for the period from July 1 to September 30 amount to $2.079 billion. Which is an internal record for the second quarter and even exceeds the upper end of the company’s own initial expectations. EA had estimated it would be 2.05 billion.
The group attributes this financial success to American football, among other things. Or, to be more precise, college football. The simulation was “the best-selling HD title in North America” in September. This refers to a full-price game for high-resolution platforms. The live services for “global football” – in particular EA SPORTS FC – also experienced “growth across all platforms”. Ultimate Team & Co. were responsible for 74 percent of all net bookings from EA in the twelve months to October.
Wilson’s pat on the back for EA SPORTS
Even game sales in the second quarter of the current fiscal year were almost $100 million higher than in the same period in 2023. EA had been experiencing problems in this area in the recent past. In turn, cash flow from operating activities more than doubled, from 112 to 234 million. This could also be related to the “restructuring” announced in February, which resulted in around 670 job cuts.
EA itself explains it instead by “the timing of releases” – College Football 25 was again at the forefront. According to CEO Andrew Wilson, the strong quarter was generally “due to the breadth of our portfolio and the fact that our sports franchises exceeded our forecasts”. A little pat on the back from California to Vancouver, where subsidiary EA SPORTS is headquartered.
So, financially, everything is fine at EA? Not quite: Despite increased net revenue quarter-on-quarter, profits fell by $105 million compared to 2023. The publisher explained this development, among other things, with the costs of restructuring and a one-time tax benefit in the previous fiscal year. EA raised its expectations for fiscal year 2025 to net income of $7.4 to $7.7 billion.