Take-Two Announces “Terrific” Q1 Financial Results Significantly Exceeding Expectations

Today Take-Two Interactive Software announced its financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021, related to the period between April 1 and June 30, 2020.

Below you can check out a summary of the company’s performance for the quarter, which the company defines as “strong,” mentioning that net revenue and net bookings broke records for a first quarter by recording a massive improvement year-on-year.

• GAAP net revenue grew 54% to $831.3 million, a fiscal first quarter record
• GAAP net income per diluted share increased 88% to $0.77
• GAAP net cash provided by operating activities for the three-months ended June 30, 2020 increased 310% to $445.4 million
• Adjusted Unrestricted Operating Cash Flow (Non-GAAP) for the three-months ended June 30, 2020 increased 595% to $324.0 million
• Net Bookings grew 136% to $996.2 million, a fiscal first quarter record
• Company raises outlook for fiscal year 2021

We also read a comment from Chief Executive Officer Strauss Zelnick, mentioning that the quarter was “terrific” with results that “significantly” exceeded expectations.

We also hear that the company raised its revenue expectations for the whole year.

“Fiscal 2021 is off to a terrific start with first quarter operating results that significantly exceeded our expectations, including fiscal first quarter records for GAAP net revenue and Net Bookings.

Our extraordinary results were driven primarily by the outperformance of NBA 2K20, Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online, and Social Point’s mobile games.

As a result of our better-than-expected first quarter operating results and increased forecast for the balance of the year, we are raising our fiscal 2021 outlook, which is poised to be another great year for Take-Two.

With the strongest development pipeline in the history of the Company and our ongoing investment in emerging markets, platforms and business models, Take-Two is exceedingly well positioned to capitalize on the many positive trends in our industry and to generate growth and margin expansion over the long-term.”

Below you can check out a few highlights from Take-two’s brands. Interestingly, we learn that Grand Theft Auto Online will have content developed exclusively for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.

Take-Two:

• As previously announced, during the months of April and May 2020, our labels came together to donate 5% of Net Bookings (after platform fees) from in-game purchases from Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online from Rockstar Games, NBA 2K20 and NBA 2K19 from 2K Games, Dragon City from Social Point, as well as from full-game digital sales of The Outer Worlds from Private Division, to support an array of COVID-19 charities and local businesses in need. As a result of this effort, we proudly raised over $15 million and provided support to more than 180 organizations throughout the world, including Covenant House, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Feeding America, International Medical Corps, Robin Hood, and Save the Children to name a few. Our efforts supported food banks, shelters and first responders; provided healthcare workers and hospitals with protective equipment; funded research for a COVID-19 vaccine; provided relief funds for small businesses in the regions where we operate; and endowed numerous industry-related organizations to deliver essential in-home STEM education and game design programs for students.

Rockstar Games:

• Released new free content updates for Red Dead Online including:
  • The Naturalist, a massive new update to Red Dead Online featuring a new Frontier Pursuit that will introduce players to the secrets of naturalism as part of an all-new Role, plus a new Outlaw Pass, tons of community-requested features and fixes, and much more to play and discover in the months to come.
  • Six new maps and additional variations to Showdown Mode.
• Released new free content updates for Grand Theft Auto Online including, Gerald’s Last Play, featuring six new missions for solo and co-op play.
• Announced that they will bring Grand Theft Auto V to the new generation of consoles, including PlayStation 5, in the second half of calendar 2021. The next generation versions of the game will feature a range of technical improvements, visual upgrades, and performance enhancements to take full advantage of the latest hardware. For the Grand Theft Auto Online community, the journey will continue on next generation with more new updates, including additional content exclusive to the new consoles and PC. There will also be a new standalone version of Grand Theft Auto Online coming in the second half of calendar 2021, which will be available for free exclusively for PlayStation 5 players during the first three months. Additionally, all PlayStation Plus members on PlayStation 4 will each get 1 million GTA dollars deposited into their in-game Maze Bank account each month they play Grand Theft Auto Online until the launch of the game on PlayStation 5.

2K:

• Released Mafia II Definitive Edition and Mafia III Definitive Edition as part of the Mafia Trilogy, which combines all three previously released Mafia titles into a single package for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Mafia I Definitive Edition will become available September 25^th, as the game is being completely remade, including new technology, new voice acting, new game mechanics, and more.
• Launched BioShock: The Collection, XCOM 2 Collection, and Borderlands Legendary Collection on Nintendo Switch.
• Released XCOM: Chimera Squad digitally for PC via Steam. XCOM: Chimera Squad is an all-new standalone title in the award-winning, turn-based, XCOM tactical series.
• Released the Sid Meier’s Civilization VI – New Frontier Pass, which provides eight new civilizations, nine new leaders, and a variety of new gameplay modes and content for the strategy title from Firaxis Games. The new content will be delivered to consumers via six downloadable packs on a bimonthly basis from May 2020 to March 2021.
• Launched, together with Gearbox Software, Borderlands Science, an interactive game within Borderlands 3 that invites players to map the human gut microbiome to advance vital medical studies while earning in-game rewards. This major initiative is the result of international partnerships with researchers and scientists at McGill University, Massively Multiplayer Online Science (MMOS), and The Microsetta Initiative at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Emmy-nominated Big Bang Theory star and scientist Dr. Mayim Bialik lent her voice to the project, helping guide players on their journey.
• Unveiled the full roster of cover athletes for NBA 2K21, the next iteration of the top-rated and top-selling NBA video game simulation series. On the cover of the current-generation version of NBA 2K21 is five-time NBA All-Star and Portland Trail Blazers’ standout Damian Lillard. Zion Williamson – New Orleans Pelicans forward, 2019 1^st Overall Pick and consensus 2019 National College Player of the Year, lands the cover for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X version. Finally, NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s lifetime achievement of basketball excellence is celebrated in the Mamba Forever Edition. NBA 2K21 will be available for $59.99 on current-generation platforms; the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X version of NBA 2K21 will be available for $69.99. NBA 2K21 Mamba Forever Edition will be available for $99.99 for both current and next-generation platforms. It includes dual-access when purchasing Mamba Forever Edition on either current or next-generation platforms and provides a copy of the standard edition game on the other generation at no additional cost, within the same console family.
• Announced that WWE 2K Battlegrounds, the arcade-style brawler that will bring over-the-top WWE action to a new level of intensity, will release worldwide on September 18, 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch and Stadia. Featuring a roster of more than 70 WWE Superstars and Legends at launch, with additional Superstars to be released thereafter, WWE 2K Battlegrounds is now available for pre-order in digital formats and at participating retailers.
• Announced PGA TOUR 2K21 from HB Studios is planned for launch on August 21, 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch (digital), PC and Stadia. The game will feature PGA TOUR professional Justin Thomas as its cover athlete; officially licensed pro players, courses and gear; the most realistic course scanning to date; play-by-play commentary by Luke Elvy and Rich Beem; a new PGA TOUR Career Mode, online and local multiplayer; course and player customization; and online societies.
• The NBA 2K League 2020 regular season began on May 5, 2020 with all 23 teams participating in remote gameplay from their local markets through the 12-week regular season, and three in-season tournaments – THE TIPOFF, THE TURN, and THE TICKET between August 13-15, 2020. The Playoffs will run between August 19-22, 2020, before the Finals on August 29, 2020. All matches air live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch channel, in addition to select matches airing live on ESPN2, ESPN’s digital platforms and the NBA 2K League’s YouTube channel, and on delay on eGG Network in Southeast Asia. In addition, in June, as part of a multiyear agreement, livestreams of League games began airing on Dash Radio’s Nothin’ But Net channel on the digital network that has more than 12 million subscribers
• Announced a partnership with OneTeam Partners and the National Football League Players Association that will allow the label to include the names, numbers, images and likenesses for over 2,000 current NFL players in multiple, non-simulation football games that are currently in development and set to launch starting in calendar year 2021, during fiscal 2022.

Private Division:

• Launched Disintegration, the debut title from V1 Interactive, the independent studio founded by Marcus Lehto, co-creator of Halo, digitally for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Disintegration is a sci-fi, first-person shooter that blends real-time tactical elements to create an entirely new experience.
• Released The Outer Worlds, the award-winning title created by renowned RPG developer Obsidian Entertainment, for Nintendo Switch. The Outer Worlds is also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. In addition, Private Division announced that on September 9, 2020 they will release Peril on Gorgon, the first narrative expansion for The Outer Worlds. Peril on Gorgon is the first of two narrative expansions that can be purchased individually or bundled at a discount in The Outer Worlds Expansion Pass.
• Launched, in partnership with the European Space Agency, a new Kerbal Space Program update, entitled Shared Horizons for PC. The update will also be available later this year on consoles.
• Announced three new publishing agreements with top independent developers Moon Studios, League of Geeks, and Roll7. In collaboration with these developers, Private Division will announce more details about each specific project in the future. These titles are in early development and do not have set release dates. The first of these titles is expected to launch in fiscal year 2022.
• Announced that Kerbal Space Program 2 is planned for launch in Fall 2021 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The team at Intercept Games is hard at work creating the best Kerbal Space Program experience possible.

Last, but not least, here’s a look at the upcoming games from the publisher’s brands. This includes the confirmation that Grand-Theft Auto V will release for both PS5 and Xbox Series X.

If you’d like to compare, you can check out the results for the previous quarter, which were published in May.