Electronic Arts Q3 Profit Drops 70% Despite 38% Net Bookings Surge
Electronic Arts delivered Q3 net bookings of $3.046B, up 38% year-over-year, and net revenue of $1.901B, up 1% year-over-year, while net income fell to $88M (EPS $0.35) from $293M a year ago. Management deferred the earnings call because of its pending $55B acquisition by an investor consortium.
1. Q3 Financial Results and Earnings Per Share
Electronic Arts reported net revenue of $1.901 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, a marginal increase from $1.883 billion a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share came in at $0.35, down from $1.11 in Q3 FY25, reflecting a net income of $88 million versus $293 million in the prior-year period. Analysts had forecast EPS closer to break-even based on seasonality of live-service titles, making this result a modest beat in a traditionally softer quarter for full-game launches.
2. Net Bookings and Segment Highlights
Total net bookings reached $3.046 billion, up 38% year-over-year, driven by the launch of Battlefield 6, which set new engagement records and was the best-selling shooter of 2025. Live services bookings of $1.269 billion remained in line with last year, supported by Apex Legends, which delivered double-digit growth on the back of new in-game events, and EA SPORTS FC Ultimate Team, which saw high single-digit increases excluding timing effects of deluxe edition content. Full-game sales contributed $632 million, up from $599 million in the year-ago quarter.
3. Cash Flow, Capital Allocation and Dividend
Operating cash flow for the quarter was $1.826 billion, a 55% increase from $1.176 billion in Q3 FY25, lifting trailing twelve-month cash flow to $2.522 billion. In the period, EA paid $47 million in dividends and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share, payable March 18, 2026 to shareholders of record as of February 25. No share repurchases were executed in Q3, in contrast to $375 million of repurchases in the same quarter last year.
4. Pending Acquisition and Outlook
On September 29, 2025, EA entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by a consortium including The Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, valuing the company at an enterprise level of approximately $55 billion. The transaction remains on track to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Given the pending deal, EA did not host an earnings conference call but directed investors to its IR website for further financial modeling and to its upcoming Form 10-Q for detailed reconciliations and forward-looking commentary.