Speaker #1: Hello, and thank you for standing by. My name is Tiffany, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Q3 Fiscal Year 2026 Quarterly Earnings Results Call.
Operator: Hello, and thank you for standing by. My name is Tiffany, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Q3 Fiscal Year 2026 Quarterly Earnings Results Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, during that time, simply press star, then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. I would now like to turn the call over to Nicole Shevins, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Nicole, please go ahead.
Operator: Hello, and thank you for standing by. My name is Tiffany, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Q3 Fiscal Year 2026 Quarterly Earnings Results Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, during that time, simply press star, then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. I would now like to turn the call over to Nicole Shevins, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Nicole, please go ahead.
Speaker #1: All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question during that time, simply press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad.
Speaker #1: I will now turn the call over to Nicole Shevins, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Nicole, please go ahead.
Speaker #2: Good afternoon. Thank you for joining our conference call to discuss our results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, ended December 31, 2025.
Nicole Shevins: Good afternoon. Thank you for joining our conference call to discuss our results for the Q3 of fiscal year 2026 ending 31 December 2025. Today's call will be led by Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Karl Slatoff, our President, and Lainie Goldstein, our Chief Financial Officer. We will be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session following our prepared remarks. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that statements made during this call that are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to us. We have no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Actual operating results may vary significantly from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of factors.
Nicole Shevins: Good afternoon. Thank you for joining our conference call to discuss our results for the Q3 of fiscal year 2026 ending 31 December 2025. Today's call will be led by Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Karl Slatoff, our President, and Lainie Goldstein, our Chief Financial Officer. We will be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session following our prepared remarks. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that statements made during this call that are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to us. We have no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Actual operating results may vary significantly from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of factors.
Speaker #2: Today's call will be led by Strauss Zelnick, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, along with Karl Slatoff, our President, and Lainie Goldstein, our Chief Financial Officer.
Speaker #2: We will be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session following our prepared remarks. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that statements made during this call that are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws.
Speaker #2: These forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of our management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to us. We have no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Speaker #2: Actual operating results may vary significantly from these forward-looking statements, based on a variety of factors. These important factors are described in our filings with the SEC, including the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including the risks summarized in this section entitled Risk Factors.
Nicole Shevins: These important factors are described in our filings with the SEC, including the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including the risks summarized in the section entitled Risk Factors. I'd also like to note that, unless otherwise stated, all numbers we will be discussing today are GAAP, and all comparisons are year-over-year. Additional details regarding our actual results and outlook are contained in our press release, including the items that our management uses internally to adjust our GAAP financial results in order to evaluate our operating performance. Our press release also contains a reconciliation of any non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable GAAP measure. In addition, we have posted to our website a slide deck that visually presents our results and financial outlook. Our press release and filings with the SEC may be obtained from our website at take2games.com.
Nicole Shevins: These important factors are described in our filings with the SEC, including the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including the risks summarized in the section entitled Risk Factors. I'd also like to note that, unless otherwise stated, all numbers we will be discussing today are GAAP, and all comparisons are year-over-year. Additional details regarding our actual results and outlook are contained in our press release, including the items that our management uses internally to adjust our GAAP financial results in order to evaluate our operating performance. Our press release also contains a reconciliation of any non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable GAAP measure. In addition, we have posted to our website a slide deck that visually presents our results and financial outlook. Our press release and filings with the SEC may be obtained from our website at take2games.com.
Speaker #2: I'd also like to note that, unless otherwise stated, all numbers we will be discussing today are GAAP, and all details regarding our actual results comparisons are year over year.
Speaker #2: Additional outlook is contained in our press release, including the items that our management uses internally to adjust our GAAP financial results in order to evaluate our operating performance.
Speaker #2: Our press release also contains a reconciliation of any non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable GAAP measure. In addition, we have posted to our website a slide deck that visually presents our results and financial outlook.
Speaker #2: Our press release and filings with the SEC may be obtained from our website at taketwogames.com. And now, I'll turn the call over to Strauss.
Nicole Shevins: Now I'll turn the call over to Strauss.
Nicole Shevins: Now I'll turn the call over to Strauss.
Speaker #3: Thanks, Nicole. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased to report that we delivered another outstanding quarter, including net bookings of $1.76 billion, which surpassed meaningfully the high end of our guidance.
Strauss Zelnick: Thanks, Nicole. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased to report that we delivered another outstanding quarter, including net bookings of $1.76 billion, which surpassed meaningfully the high end of our guidance. All of our labels outperformed substantially our expectations and contributed to our ongoing success. Due to our strong results and positive momentum that has continued into the current quarter, we're once again raising our outlook for the full fiscal year. We now expect net bookings to range from $6.65 billion to $6.7 billion, which represents 18% growth compared to fiscal 2025. At the midpoint, our revised net bookings forecast is approximately $725 million above the initial outlook we provided in May 2025, which reflects the creative passion, hard work, and consistent execution of our teams. Turning to highlights from the period, I'll begin with the fantastic performance of our mobile business.
Strauss Zelnick: Thanks, Nicole. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased to report that we delivered another outstanding quarter, including net bookings of $1.76 billion, which surpassed meaningfully the high end of our guidance. All of our labels outperformed substantially our expectations and contributed to our ongoing success. Due to our strong results and positive momentum that has continued into the current quarter, we're once again raising our outlook for the full fiscal year. We now expect net bookings to range from $6.65 billion to $6.7 billion, which represents 18% growth compared to fiscal 2025. At the midpoint, our revised net bookings forecast is approximately $725 million above the initial outlook we provided in May 2025, which reflects the creative passion, hard work, and consistent execution of our teams. Turning to highlights from the period, I'll begin with the fantastic performance of our mobile business.
Speaker #3: All of our labels outperformed substantially our expectations and contributed to our ongoing success. Due to our strong results and positive momentum that has continued into the current quarter, we're once again raising our outlook for the full fiscal year.
Speaker #3: We now expect net bookings to range from $6.65 billion to $6.7 billion, which represents 18% growth compared to fiscal 2025. At the midpoint, our revised net bookings forecast is approximately $725 million above the initial outlook we provided in May 2025.
Speaker #3: Which reflects the creative passion, hard work, and consistent execution of our teams. Turning to highlights from the period, I'll begin with the fantastic performance of our mobile business.
Speaker #3: Peaks Forever franchise TuneBlast grew 43% year over year and surpassed $3 billion in lifetime net bookings. An extraordinary achievement for a title that has been engaging players for more than eight years.
Strauss Zelnick: Peak's Toon Blast franchise grew 43% year-over-year and surpassed $3 billion in lifetime net bookings, an extraordinary achievement for a title that has been engaging players for more than eight years. The game continues to rank among our most valuable franchises, showcasing the long-term value of our Match3 portfolio. Match Factory, another hit from Peak, grew approximately 17% over last year. The title remains a top contributor two years after its launch, affirming our strategy of building a diverse portfolio of games with vast global appeal. Colorblock Jam remains Rollic's all-time top-performing title and was featured in Apple's 2025 Free Games list in the US, underscoring the title's success. Empires & Puzzles and Words With Friends grew 11% and 6% respectively over last year.
Strauss Zelnick: Peak's Toon Blast franchise grew 43% year-over-year and surpassed $3 billion in lifetime net bookings, an extraordinary achievement for a title that has been engaging players for more than eight years. The game continues to rank among our most valuable franchises, showcasing the long-term value of our Match3 portfolio. Match Factory, another hit from Peak, grew approximately 17% over last year. The title remains a top contributor two years after its launch, affirming our strategy of building a diverse portfolio of games with vast global appeal. Colorblock Jam remains Rollic's all-time top-performing title and was featured in Apple's 2025 Free Games list in the US, underscoring the title's success. Empires & Puzzles and Words With Friends grew 11% and 6% respectively over last year.
Speaker #3: The game continues to rank among our most valuable franchises, showcasing the long-term value of our match-three portfolio. Match Factory, another hit from Peak, grew approximately 17% over last year.
Speaker #3: The title remains a top contributor two years after its launch, affirming our strategy of building a diverse portfolio of games with vast global appeal.
Speaker #3: Color Block Jam remains Rolex’s all-time top-performing title and was featured in Apple’s 2025 Free Games list in the success. Empires and US, underscoring the title’s puzzles, and Words With Friends grew 11% and 6% respectively over last year.
Speaker #3: Advertising revenues grew 10% over last year, driven by higher average revenue per daily active user, and we're highly confident in the future of this component of the business.
Strauss Zelnick: Advertising revenues grew 10% over last year, driven by higher average revenue per daily active user, and we're highly confident in the future of this component of the business. 2K's mobile offerings also had another solid quarter, with WWE SuperCard surpassing 38 million lifetime downloads, NBA 2K Mobile continuing to expand its audience, NBA 2K26 Arcade Edition holding its top five position on the Apple Arcade charts, and NBA 2K All-Star in China growing to nearly 9 million registered users after less than one year in market. Our mobile direct-to-consumer business delivered its strongest quarter on record. We've introduced recent enhancements that enable more personalized offers, flexible pricing, reduced payment friction, and alternative payment methods. With the regulatory environment becoming even more favorable to us, we view direct-to-consumer as a meaningful growth driver that will help accelerate net bookings, margins, and profitability.
Strauss Zelnick: Advertising revenues grew 10% over last year, driven by higher average revenue per daily active user, and we're highly confident in the future of this component of the business. 2K's mobile offerings also had another solid quarter, with WWE SuperCard surpassing 38 million lifetime downloads, NBA 2K Mobile continuing to expand its audience, NBA 2K26 Arcade Edition holding its top five position on the Apple Arcade charts, and NBA 2K All-Star in China growing to nearly 9 million registered users after less than one year in market. Our mobile direct-to-consumer business delivered its strongest quarter on record. We've introduced recent enhancements that enable more personalized offers, flexible pricing, reduced payment friction, and alternative payment methods. With the regulatory environment becoming even more favorable to us, we view direct-to-consumer as a meaningful growth driver that will help accelerate net bookings, margins, and profitability.
Speaker #3: 2K's mobile offerings also had another solid quarter, with WWE SuperCard surpassing 38 million lifetime downloads, NBA 2K Mobile continuing to expand its audience, NBA 2K26 Arcade Edition holding its top five position on the Apple Arcade charts, and NBA 2K All-Star in China growing to nearly 9 million registered users after less than one year in market.
Speaker #3: Our mobile direct-to-consumer business delivered its strongest quarter on record. We've introduced recent enhancements that enable more personalized offers, flexible pricing, reduced payment friction, and alternative payment methods.
Speaker #3: With the regulatory environment becoming even more favorable to us, we view direct-to-consumer as a meaningful growth driver that will help accelerate net bookings, margins, and profitability.
Speaker #3: NBA 2K26 delivered another stellar quarter, yielding significant upside to our forecast. To date, the title has sold approximately 8 million units, representing a high single-digit percentage increase over NBA 2K25.
Strauss Zelnick: NBA 2K26 delivered another stellar quarter, yielding significant upside to our forecast. To date, the title has sold in approximately 8 million units, representing a high single-digit percentage increase over NBA 2K25. Recurrent consumer spending, daily active users, and MyCareer daily active users all grew 30% year-over-year. Based on its phenomenal year-to-date performance, NBA 2K is on track to generate the highest level of annual net bookings and recurrent consumer spending in franchise history. I'd like to thank the NBA and NBA Players Association for their extraordinary partnership and support. The Grand Theft Auto series also vastly outpaced our forecasts, with recurrent consumer spending growth of 27% led by GTA Online's A Safe House in the Hills update, which featured long-awaited mansion properties and the return of the fan-favorite protagonist Michael DeSanta.
Strauss Zelnick: NBA 2K26 delivered another stellar quarter, yielding significant upside to our forecast. To date, the title has sold in approximately 8 million units, representing a high single-digit percentage increase over NBA 2K25. Recurrent consumer spending, daily active users, and MyCareer daily active users all grew 30% year-over-year. Based on its phenomenal year-to-date performance, NBA 2K is on track to generate the highest level of annual net bookings and recurrent consumer spending in franchise history. I'd like to thank the NBA and NBA Players Association for their extraordinary partnership and support. The Grand Theft Auto series also vastly outpaced our forecasts, with recurrent consumer spending growth of 27% led by GTA Online's A Safe House in the Hills update, which featured long-awaited mansion properties and the return of the fan-favorite protagonist Michael DeSanta.
Speaker #3: Recurrent consumer spending, daily active users, and MyCAREER daily active users all grew 30% year over year. Based on its phenomenal year-to-date performance, NBA 2K is on track to generate the highest level of annual net bookings and recurrent consumer spending in franchise history.
Speaker #3: I'd like to thank the NBA and NBA Players Association for their extraordinary partnership and support. The Grand Theft Auto series also vastly outpaced our forecast, with recurrent consumer spending growth of 27%, led by GTA Online's 'A Safe House in the Hills' update, which featured long-awaited mansion properties and the return of the fan-favorite protagonist Michael DeSanta.
Speaker #3: Full game sales of Grand Theft Auto V remain strong, with the title now having sold over 225 million units since its launch in 2013.
Strauss Zelnick: Full game sales of Grand Theft Auto V remain strong, with the title now having sold in over 225 million units since its launch in 2013. GTA+ continues to thrive, with membership levels nearly doubling over the same period last year, and we're excited about its potential to add even more value to the player experience in the future. In December, Rockstar Games expanded Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare onto new platforms, bringing these classic blockbusters to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and iOS and Android mobile devices for Netflix subscribers. We're immensely proud of our teams and their ability to deliver consistently the highest quality and most engaging entertainment experiences.
Strauss Zelnick: Full game sales of Grand Theft Auto V remain strong, with the title now having sold in over 225 million units since its launch in 2013. GTA+ continues to thrive, with membership levels nearly doubling over the same period last year, and we're excited about its potential to add even more value to the player experience in the future. In December, Rockstar Games expanded Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare onto new platforms, bringing these classic blockbusters to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and iOS and Android mobile devices for Netflix subscribers. We're immensely proud of our teams and their ability to deliver consistently the highest quality and most engaging entertainment experiences.
Speaker #3: GTA Plus continues to thrive, with membership levels nearly doubling over the same period last year, and we're excited about its potential to add even more value to the player experience in the future.
Speaker #3: In December, Rockstar Games expanded Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare onto new platforms, bringing these classic blockbusters to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch 2, and iOS and Android mobile devices for Netflix subscribers.
Speaker #3: We're immensely proud of our teams and their ability to deliver consistently the highest quality and most engaging entertainment experiences. As we continue to explore and invest in new technologies, particularly AI, we'll unlock greater efficiencies that will allow our talent to focus on the kind of innovation that has enabled us continually to set new creative and commercial benchmarks in interactive entertainment.
Strauss Zelnick: As we continue to explore and invest in new technologies, particularly AI, will unlock greater efficiencies that will allow our talent to focus on the kind of innovation that has enabled us continually to set new creative and commercial benchmarks in interactive entertainment. Our execution throughout fiscal 2026 has been extraordinary, and we're highly confident as we approach fiscal 2027, which promises to be groundbreaking for Take-Two and the entire entertainment industry, led by the 19 November release of Grand Theft Auto VI with Rockstar's launch marketing set to begin this summer. With ongoing momentum in our business coupled with our robust forward release schedule, we continue to project record levels of net bookings in fiscal 2027, which we believe will establish a higher financial baseline, set us on a path to enhanced profitability, and further provide balance sheet strength and flexibility.
Strauss Zelnick: As we continue to explore and invest in new technologies, particularly AI, will unlock greater efficiencies that will allow our talent to focus on the kind of innovation that has enabled us continually to set new creative and commercial benchmarks in interactive entertainment. Our execution throughout fiscal 2026 has been extraordinary, and we're highly confident as we approach fiscal 2027, which promises to be groundbreaking for Take-Two and the entire entertainment industry, led by the 19 November release of Grand Theft Auto VI with Rockstar's launch marketing set to begin this summer. With ongoing momentum in our business coupled with our robust forward release schedule, we continue to project record levels of net bookings in fiscal 2027, which we believe will establish a higher financial baseline, set us on a path to enhanced profitability, and further provide balance sheet strength and flexibility.
Speaker #3: Our execution throughout fiscal 2026 has been extraordinary, and we're highly confident as we approach fiscal 2027, which promises to be groundbreaking for Take-Two and the entire entertainment industry, led by the November 19th release of Grand Theft Auto VI, with Rockstar's launch marketing set to begin this summer.
Speaker #3: With ongoing momentum in our business, coupled with our robust forward release schedule, we continue to project record levels of net bookings in fiscal 2027, which we believe will establish a higher financial baseline, set us on a path to enhanced profitability, and further provide balance sheet strength and flexibility.
Speaker #3: I'll now turn the call over to Karl.
Strauss Zelnick: I'll now turn the call over to Karl.
Strauss Zelnick: I'll now turn the call over to Karl.
Speaker #2: Thanks, Charles. I'd like to thank our teams for delivering another fantastic quarter, which reflects our world-class talent and the breadth and depth of our portfolio.
Karl Slatoff: Thanks, Strauss. I'd like to thank our teams for delivering another fantastic quarter, which reflects our world-class talent and the breadth and depth of our portfolio. I'll now discuss our recent and planned product offerings for the balance of fiscal 2026. On 14 January, 2K and HB Studios announced an array of new content for PGA TOUR 2K25, including three new courses for the 2026 major championships: the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, and the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, with more to come, including new seasons. Additionally, we look forward to growing the community with the launch of PGA TOUR 2K25 for Nintendo Switch 2 on Friday. Practice Games will continue to deliver a steady cadence of updates for Sid Meier's Civilization VII.
Karl Slatoff: Thanks, Strauss. I'd like to thank our teams for delivering another fantastic quarter, which reflects our world-class talent and the breadth and depth of our portfolio. I'll now discuss our recent and planned product offerings for the balance of fiscal 2026. On 14 January, 2K and HB Studios announced an array of new content for PGA TOUR 2K25, including three new courses for the 2026 major championships: the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, and the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, with more to come, including new seasons. Additionally, we look forward to growing the community with the launch of PGA TOUR 2K25 for Nintendo Switch 2 on Friday. Practice Games will continue to deliver a steady cadence of updates for Sid Meier's Civilization VII.
Speaker #2: I'll now discuss our recent and planned product offerings for the balance of fiscal 2026. On January 14, 2K and HP Studios announced an array of new content for PGA TOUR 2K25, including three new courses for the 2026 major championships.
Speaker #2: The 2026 PGA Championship at Aranament Golf Club, the 126th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, and the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, with more to come including new seasons.
Speaker #2: Additionally, we look forward to growing the community with the launch of PGA TOUR 2K25 for Nintendo Switch 2 on Friday. For Access games, we'll continue to deliver a steady cadence of updates for Sid Meier's Civilization VII.
Speaker #2: And on Thursday, 2K will launch Civilization VII for mobile devices exclusively on Apple Arcade, representing an exciting opportunity to expand the Civilization audience. On March 13th, 2K and Visual Concepts will once again raise the bar for the wrestling franchise with the release of WWE 2K26.
Karl Slatoff: On Thursday, 2K will launch Civilization VII for mobile devices exclusively on Apple Arcade, representing an exciting opportunity to expand the Civilization audience. On 13 March, 2K and Visual Concepts will once again raise the bar for a wrestling franchise with the release of WWE 2K26. Featuring the biggest roster in the series history, players will be able to choose from over 400 legends and current superstars and enjoy new customization options throughout the game. We plan to support the release with a new Ringside Pass live service model and a series of add-on packs that can be purchased individually or together as part of the season pass. 2K and Gearbox Software will continue to support Borderlands 4 with new content and updates, and we expect the title to achieve strong sell-through over its lifetime.
Karl Slatoff: On Thursday, 2K will launch Civilization VII for mobile devices exclusively on Apple Arcade, representing an exciting opportunity to expand the Civilization audience. On 13 March, 2K and Visual Concepts will once again raise the bar for a wrestling franchise with the release of WWE 2K26. Featuring the biggest roster in the series history, players will be able to choose from over 400 legends and current superstars and enjoy new customization options throughout the game. We plan to support the release with a new Ringside Pass live service model and a series of add-on packs that can be purchased individually or together as part of the season pass. 2K and Gearbox Software will continue to support Borderlands 4 with new content and updates, and we expect the title to achieve strong sell-through over its lifetime.
Speaker #2: Featuring the biggest roster in the series' history, players will be able to choose from over 400 legends and current superstars, and enjoy new customization options throughout the game.
Speaker #2: We plan to support the release with a new Ringside Pass live service model, and a series of add-on packs that can be purchased individually or together as part of the Season Pass.
Speaker #2: 2K and Gearbox Software will continue to support Borderlands 4 with new content and updates, and we expect the title to achieve strong sell-through over its lifetime.
Speaker #2: Zynga will continue to deliver new features and drive innovation across its live services, as well as pursue the development of new titles. Looking ahead, we believe strongly in our upcoming launches, and we'll provide our initial three-year pipeline for fiscal 2027 through fiscal 2029 with our Q4 results in May.
Karl Slatoff: Zynga will continue to deliver new features and drive innovation across its live services, as well as pursue the development of new titles. Looking ahead, we believe strongly in our upcoming launches and will provide our initial three-year pipeline for fiscal 2027 through fiscal 2029 with our Q4 results in May. I'll now turn the call over to Lainie.
Karl Slatoff: Zynga will continue to deliver new features and drive innovation across its live services, as well as pursue the development of new titles. Looking ahead, we believe strongly in our upcoming launches and will provide our initial three-year pipeline for fiscal 2027 through fiscal 2029 with our Q4 results in May. I'll now turn the call over to Lainie.
Speaker #2: Lainie.
Speaker #3: Thanks, Karl, and good afternoon,
Lainie Goldstein: Thanks, Karl, and good afternoon, everyone. Our third quarter results were fantastic, with all of our labels delivering excellent results, and we are pleased to once again raise our outlook for the fiscal year. With many of our core franchises continuing to thrive, fiscal 2026 is on track to be one of our strongest years in recent history, and I'd like to thank our teams for their vision, passion, and dedication. Turning to our performance, we delivered third quarter net bookings of $1.76 billion, which was significantly above the high end of our guidance range of $1.55 to $1.6 billion. This reflected better-than-expected performance from NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto series, and several mobile titles, including Toon Blast, Empires & Puzzles, and Top Eleven. Recurrent consumer spending rose 23% for the period, which strongly outperformed our guidance of 8% growth and accounted for 76% of net bookings.
Lainie Goldstein: Thanks, Karl, and good afternoon, everyone. Our third quarter results were fantastic, with all of our labels delivering excellent results, and we are pleased to once again raise our outlook for the fiscal year. With many of our core franchises continuing to thrive, fiscal 2026 is on track to be one of our strongest years in recent history, and I'd like to thank our teams for their vision, passion, and dedication. Turning to our performance, we delivered third quarter net bookings of $1.76 billion, which was significantly above the high end of our guidance range of $1.55 to $1.6 billion. This reflected better-than-expected performance from NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto series, and several mobile titles, including Toon Blast, Empires & Puzzles, and Top Eleven. Recurrent consumer spending rose 23% for the period, which strongly outperformed our guidance of 8% growth and accounted for 76% of net bookings.
Speaker #3: Everyone, our third quarter results were fantastic. With all of our labels delivering excellent results, we are pleased to once again raise our outlook for the fiscal year. I'll now turn the call over to...
Speaker #3: With many of our core franchises continuing to thrive, fiscal 2026 is on track to be one of our strongest years in recent history. And I'd like to thank our teams for their vision, passion, and dedication.
Speaker #3: Turning to our performance, we delivered third-quarter net bookings of $1.76 billion, which was significantly above the high end of our guidance range of $1.55 to $1.6 billion.
Speaker #3: This reflected better-than-expected performance from NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto series, and several mobile titles including Tomblast, Empires & Puzzles, and Top Eleven. Current consumer spending rose 23% for the period, which strongly outperformed our guidance of 8% growth and accounted for 76% of net bookings.
Speaker #3: NBA 2K grew 30%, Grand Theft Auto Online increased 27%, and mobile increased 19%, all of which exceeded our expectations. During the quarter, we launched WWE 2K Mobile for Netflix and Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare for several new platforms.
Lainie Goldstein: NBA 2K grew 30%, Grand Theft Auto Online increased 27%, and mobile increased 19%, all of which exceeded our expectations. During the quarter, we launched WWE 2K Mobile for Netflix and Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare for several new platforms. GAAP net revenue increased 25% to $1.7 billion, cost of revenue increased 26% to $754 million, and operating expenses increased 10% to $984 million. On a management basis, operating expenses rose 13% year-over-year, which was in line with our guidance and represented significant operating expense leverage on our fantastic top-line growth. Turning to our guidance, I'll begin with our full fiscal year expectations. We're once again raising our net bookings outlook and now expect to achieve $6.65 to $6.7 billion, which represents 18% growth at the midpoint over fiscal 2025.
Lainie Goldstein: NBA 2K grew 30%, Grand Theft Auto Online increased 27%, and mobile increased 19%, all of which exceeded our expectations. During the quarter, we launched WWE 2K Mobile for Netflix and Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare for several new platforms. GAAP net revenue increased 25% to $1.7 billion, cost of revenue increased 26% to $754 million, and operating expenses increased 10% to $984 million. On a management basis, operating expenses rose 13% year-over-year, which was in line with our guidance and represented significant operating expense leverage on our fantastic top-line growth. Turning to our guidance, I'll begin with our full fiscal year expectations. We're once again raising our net bookings outlook and now expect to achieve $6.65 to $6.7 billion, which represents 18% growth at the midpoint over fiscal 2025.
Speaker #3: GAP net revenue increased 25% to $1.7 billion, cost of revenue increased 26% to $754 million, and operating expenses increased 10% to $984 million.
Speaker #3: On a management basis, operating expenses rose 13% year-over-year, which was in line with our guidance and represented significant operating expense leverage on our fantastic top-line growth.
Speaker #3: Turning to our guidance, I'll begin with our full fiscal year expectations. We have once again raised our net bookings outlook and now expect to achieve $6.65 to $6.7 billion, which represents 18% growth at the midpoint over fiscal 2025.
Speaker #3: The increase reflects our third-quarter outperformance and higher expectations for several of our key titles during the fourth quarter. The largest contributors to net bookings are expected to be NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto series, Tomblast, Match Factory, Empires & Puzzles, Color Block Jam, Borderlands, the Red Dead Redemption series, and Words With Friends.
Lainie Goldstein: The increase reflects our Q3 outperformance and higher expectations for several of our key titles during the Q4. The largest contributors to net bookings are expected to be NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto series, Toon Blast, Match Factory, Empires and Puzzles, Colorblock Jam, Borderlands, the Red Dead Redemption series, and Words With Friends. We now expect recurrent consumer spending to grow approximately 17% and represent 78% of net bookings. This is up significantly from our prior forecast of 11%, driven by strong momentum across most of our major franchises. Our revised recurrent consumer spending forecast assumes that NBA 2K grows approximately 37%, mobile increases approximately 13%, and Grand Theft Auto Online increases slightly. All of these expectations are raised from our prior forecast. We project the net bookings breakdown from our labels to be roughly 46% Zynga, 38% 2K, and 16% Rockstar Games.
Lainie Goldstein: The increase reflects our Q3 outperformance and higher expectations for several of our key titles during the Q4. The largest contributors to net bookings are expected to be NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto series, Toon Blast, Match Factory, Empires and Puzzles, Colorblock Jam, Borderlands, the Red Dead Redemption series, and Words With Friends. We now expect recurrent consumer spending to grow approximately 17% and represent 78% of net bookings. This is up significantly from our prior forecast of 11%, driven by strong momentum across most of our major franchises. Our revised recurrent consumer spending forecast assumes that NBA 2K grows approximately 37%, mobile increases approximately 13%, and Grand Theft Auto Online increases slightly. All of these expectations are raised from our prior forecast. We project the net bookings breakdown from our labels to be roughly 46% Zynga, 38% 2K, and 16% Rockstar Games.
Speaker #3: We now expect recurring consumer spending to grow approximately 17% and represent 78% of net bookings. This is up significantly from our prior forecast of 11%, driven by strong momentum across most of our major franchises.
Speaker #3: Our revised recurring consumer spending forecast assumes that NBA 2K grows approximately 37%. Mobile increases approximately 13%, and Grand Theft Auto Online increases slightly. All of these expectations are raised from our prior forecast.
Speaker #3: We project the net bookings breakdown from our labels to be roughly 46% Zynga, 38% 2K, and 16% Rockstar Games. We're raising our operating cash flow forecast to approximately $450 million, which is up from our prior expectation of $250 million, with the increase reflecting the strength in our business.
Lainie Goldstein: We are raising our operating cash flow forecast to approximately $450 million, which is up from our prior expectation of $250 million, with the increase reflecting the strength in our business. We remain on track to deploy approximately $180 million in capital expenditures. We are also updating our forecast for GAAP net revenue, which is now expected to range from $6.55 to 6.6 billion, and cost of revenue, which is expected to range from $2.78 to 2.8 billion. Our total operating expenses are now expected to range from $3.96 to 3.97 billion compared to $7.45 billion last year, which included a $3.6 billion impairment of goodwill and intangible assets. On a management basis, we now expect operating expense growth of approximately 8% year-over-year, which is down slightly from our prior forecast due to a shift of some marketing expenses into next year.
Lainie Goldstein: We are raising our operating cash flow forecast to approximately $450 million, which is up from our prior expectation of $250 million, with the increase reflecting the strength in our business. We remain on track to deploy approximately $180 million in capital expenditures. We are also updating our forecast for GAAP net revenue, which is now expected to range from $6.55 to 6.6 billion, and cost of revenue, which is expected to range from $2.78 to 2.8 billion. Our total operating expenses are now expected to range from $3.96 to 3.97 billion compared to $7.45 billion last year, which included a $3.6 billion impairment of goodwill and intangible assets. On a management basis, we now expect operating expense growth of approximately 8% year-over-year, which is down slightly from our prior forecast due to a shift of some marketing expenses into next year.
Speaker #3: We remain on track to deploy approximately $180 million in capital expenditures. We're also updating our forecast for GAAP net revenue, which is now expected to range from $6.55 to $6.6 billion, and cost of revenue, which is expected to range from $2.78 to $2.8 billion.
Speaker #3: Our total operating expenses are now expected to range from $3.96 to $3.97 billion, compared to $7.45 billion last year, which included a $3.6 billion impairment of goodwill and intangible assets.
Speaker #3: On a management basis, we now expect operating expense growth of approximately 8% year-over-year, which is down slightly from our prior forecast due to a shift of some marketing expenses into next year.
Speaker #3: Given our strong net bookings outlook, this assumes meaningful operating expense leverage over last year. Now, moving on to our guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter.
Lainie Goldstein: Given our strong net bookings outlook, this assumes meaningful operating expense leverage over last year. Now moving on to our guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter. We project net bookings to range from $1.51 to $1.56 billion compared to $1.58 billion in the prior year. Our release slate for the quarter includes Sid Meier's Civilization VII for Apple Arcade, PGA TOUR 2K25 for Switch 2, and WWE 2K26. The largest contributors to net bookings are expected to be NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto series, Toon Blast, Match Factory, WWE 2K, Empires and Puzzles, Colorblock Jam, Red Dead Redemption series, and Words With Friends. We project recurrent consumer spending to increase by approximately 7%, which assumes a high 20% increase for NBA 2K, mid-single digit growth for mobile, and a modest decline for Grand Theft Auto Online.
Lainie Goldstein: Given our strong net bookings outlook, this assumes meaningful operating expense leverage over last year. Now moving on to our guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter. We project net bookings to range from $1.51 to $1.56 billion compared to $1.58 billion in the prior year. Our release slate for the quarter includes Sid Meier's Civilization VII for Apple Arcade, PGA TOUR 2K25 for Switch 2, and WWE 2K26. The largest contributors to net bookings are expected to be NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto series, Toon Blast, Match Factory, WWE 2K, Empires and Puzzles, Colorblock Jam, Red Dead Redemption series, and Words With Friends. We project recurrent consumer spending to increase by approximately 7%, which assumes a high 20% increase for NBA 2K, mid-single digit growth for mobile, and a modest decline for Grand Theft Auto Online.
Speaker #3: We project net bookings to range from $1.51 to $1.56 billion, compared to $1.58 billion in the prior year. Our release slate for the quarter includes Sid Meier's Civilization VII for Apple Arcade, PGA Tour 2K25 for Switch 2, and WWE 2K26.
Speaker #3: The largest contributors to net bookings are expected to be NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto series, Tomblast, Match Factory, WWE 2K, Empires & Puzzles, Color Block Jam, the Red Dead Redemption series, and Words With Friends.
Speaker #3: We project recurring consumer spending to increase by approximately 7%, which assumes a high 20% increase for NBA 2K, mid-single-digit growth for mobile, and a modest decline for Grand Theft Auto Online.
Speaker #3: We expect GAP net revenue to range from $1.57 to $1.62 billion, and cost of revenue to range from $675 to $692 million.
Lainie Goldstein: We expect GAAP net revenue to range from $1.57 to 1.62 billion and cost of revenue to range from $675 to 692 million. Operating expenses are planned to range from $973 to 983 million. On a management basis, operating expenses are expected to grow by approximately 3% year-over-year, which is primarily driven by higher performance-based compensation and user acquisition investments to support robust performance in our mobile portfolio, which is partly offset by lower production expenses. In closing, our business momentum remains outstanding. We are very confident in our future. With Grand Theft Auto VI and other eagerly anticipated titles on the horizon, we believe that we will generate higher earnings power, strengthen our balance sheet, and deliver sustainable shareholder returns.
Lainie Goldstein: We expect GAAP net revenue to range from $1.57 to 1.62 billion and cost of revenue to range from $675 to 692 million. Operating expenses are planned to range from $973 to 983 million. On a management basis, operating expenses are expected to grow by approximately 3% year-over-year, which is primarily driven by higher performance-based compensation and user acquisition investments to support robust performance in our mobile portfolio, which is partly offset by lower production expenses. In closing, our business momentum remains outstanding. We are very confident in our future. With Grand Theft Auto VI and other eagerly anticipated titles on the horizon, we believe that we will generate higher earnings power, strengthen our balance sheet, and deliver sustainable shareholder returns.
Speaker #3: Operating expenses are planned to range from $973 to $983 million. On a management basis, operating expenses are expected to grow by approximately 3% year-over-year, which is primarily driven by higher performance-based compensation and user acquisition investments to support robust performance in our mobile portfolio, which is partly offset by lower production expenses.
Speaker #3: In closing, our business momentum remains outstanding. We are very confident in our future. With Grand Theft Auto 6 and other eagerly anticipated titles on the horizon, we believe that we will generate higher earnings power, strengthen our balance sheet, and deliver sustainable shareholder returns.
Speaker #3: I'd like to thank you all for your support and look forward to sharing more details in the coming months, including our initial outlook for fiscal 2027 when we report our fourth quarter results in May.
Lainie Goldstein: I'd like to thank you all for your support and look forward to sharing more details in the coming months, including our initial outlook for fiscal 2027 when we report our Q4 results in May. Thank you. I'll now turn the call back to Strauss.
Lainie Goldstein: I'd like to thank you all for your support and look forward to sharing more details in the coming months, including our initial outlook for fiscal 2027 when we report our Q4 results in May. Thank you. I'll now turn the call back to Strauss.
Speaker #3: Thank you. I'll now turn the call back to Strauss.
Strauss Zelnick: Thanks, Lainie and Karl. On behalf of our entire management team, I'd like to thank our colleagues for their shared commitment to excellence and Take-Two's long-term success. To our shareholders, I want to express our appreciation for your continued support. We'll now take your questions. Operator?
Strauss Zelnick: Thanks, Lainie and Karl. On behalf of our entire management team, I'd like to thank our colleagues for their shared commitment to excellence and Take-Two's long-term success. To our shareholders, I want to express our appreciation for your continued support. We'll now take your questions. Operator?
Speaker #2: And Karl, on behalf of our entire management team, thanks. Lainie, I'd like to thank our colleagues for their shared commitment to excellence and to Take-Two's long-term success.
Speaker #2: To our shareholders, I want to express our appreciation for your continued support. We'll now take your questions.
Speaker #2: Operator. At
Operator: At this time, if you would like to ask a question, press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, simply press star one again. We'll pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Doug Creutz with TD Cowen. Please go ahead.
Operator: At this time, if you would like to ask a question, press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, simply press star one again. We'll pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Doug Creutz with TD Cowen. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: this time, if you would like to ask a question, press star. Then the number one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, simply press star one a moment to compile the Q&A again.
Speaker #3: We'll pause for just roster. Your first question comes from the line of Doug Crouts with TD Cohen. Please go ahead.
Speaker #4: Hey, thank you. The last few days, the equity markets have really punished your stock and those of other video game makers because of fears about what AI means for your business.
[Analyst] (TD Cowen): Hey, thank you. The last few days, the equity markets have really punished your stock and those of other video game makers because of fears about what AI means for your business. I wondered, Strauss, if you'd like to expound upon whether you think what's happening in the markets is an accurate reflection of the threats and opportunities you see coming from AI. Thank you.
Doug Creutz: Hey, thank you. The last few days, the equity markets have really punished your stock and those of other video game makers because of fears about what AI means for your business. I wondered, Strauss, if you'd like to expound upon whether you think what's happening in the markets is an accurate reflection of the threats and opportunities you see coming from AI. Thank you.
Speaker #4: I wondered, Strauss, if you'd like to expound upon whether you think what's happening in the markets is an accurate reflection of the threats and opportunities you see coming from AI.
Speaker #4: Thank you.
Speaker #5: Thanks, Doug. Oh, I have to admit, I'm a little confused. The video game business, since its inception, was built on the back of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Strauss Zelnick: Thanks, Doug. Oh, I have to admit, I'm a little confused. The video game business, since its inception, was built on the back of machine learning and artificial intelligence. We create our games in computers with technology. And ever since questions began about generative AI about 18 months ago, I've been incredibly enthusiastic about what the future can bring. As it happens now, we're actively embracing generative AI. We have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company, including with our studios. And we are seeing opportunities to drive efficiencies, reduce costs, and create the opportunity to do what digital technology has always allowed, which is the mundane tasks become easier and less relevant, which frees up our creators to do the more interesting tasks of making superb entertainment.
Strauss Zelnick: Thanks, Doug. Oh, I have to admit, I'm a little confused. The video game business, since its inception, was built on the back of machine learning and artificial intelligence. We create our games in computers with technology. And ever since questions began about generative AI about 18 months ago, I've been incredibly enthusiastic about what the future can bring. As it happens now, we're actively embracing generative AI. We have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company, including with our studios. And we are seeing opportunities to drive efficiencies, reduce costs, and create the opportunity to do what digital technology has always allowed, which is the mundane tasks become easier and less relevant, which frees up our creators to do the more interesting tasks of making superb entertainment.
Speaker #5: We create our games on computers with technology, and ever since questions began about generative AI about 18 months ago, I've been incredibly enthusiastic about what the future can bring.
Speaker #5: As it happens now, we’re actively embracing generative AI. We have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company, including with our studios. And we are seeing opportunities to drive efficiencies, reduce costs, and create the opportunity to do what digital technology has always allowed.
Speaker #5: Which is the mundane tasks become easier and less relevant, which frees up our creators to do the more interesting tasks of making superb entertainment.
Speaker #5: The history of the interactive entertainment business has been one of great creators using technology to do amazing things to please audiences. And that's our job around here.
Strauss Zelnick: The history of the interactive entertainment business has been one of great creators using technology to do amazing things to please audiences. And that's our job around here. And that remains unchanged, except perhaps accelerated. Just a reminder, our strategy has three parts: be the most creative, be the most innovative, and be the most efficient company in the entertainment business. And generative AI squarely falls within the category of innovation and is already moving into the category of efficiency. I'm hopeful that it will also move into the category of creativity as it allows our creators to use digital tools to expand what we do to make it even more beautiful and even more engaging and even more exciting.
Strauss Zelnick: The history of the interactive entertainment business has been one of great creators using technology to do amazing things to please audiences. And that's our job around here. And that remains unchanged, except perhaps accelerated. Just a reminder, our strategy has three parts: be the most creative, be the most innovative, and be the most efficient company in the entertainment business. And generative AI squarely falls within the category of innovation and is already moving into the category of efficiency. I'm hopeful that it will also move into the category of creativity as it allows our creators to use digital tools to expand what we do to make it even more beautiful and even more engaging and even more exciting.
Speaker #5: And that remains unchanged, except perhaps accelerated. Just a reminder, our strategy has three parts: be the most creative, be the most innovative, and be the most efficient company in the entertainment business.
Speaker #5: And generative AI squarely falls within the category of innovation, and is already moving into the category of efficiency. I'm hopeful that it will also move into the category of creativity.
Speaker #5: As it allows our creators to use digital tools to expand what we do, to make it even more beautiful and even more engaging, and even more
Speaker #5: exciting. Thank
[Analyst] (TD Cowen): Thank you.
Doug Creutz: Thank you.
Speaker #3: Our next question comes from the line of Eric Handler with Rob Capital Partners. Please go ahead.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Eric Handler with Roth Capital Partners. Please go ahead.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Eric Handler with Roth Capital Partners. Please go ahead.
Speaker #6: Yes, good afternoon. Thanks for the question. Strauss, you just had another really strong quarter with mobile, and mobile has just been on a very big tear for the last seven quarters now.
[Analyst] (Roth Capital Partners): Yes. Good afternoon. Thanks for the question. Strauss, you just had another really strong quarter with mobile. And mobile has just been on a very big tear for the last 7 quarters now. Wondering if you could talk about some of the initiatives or bold beats, as Zynga used to call them, that what are you finding that's really resonating? What is keeping these games that have been out for a number of years still relevant and drawing in new players?
Eric Handler: Yes. Good afternoon. Thanks for the question. Strauss, you just had another really strong quarter with mobile. And mobile has just been on a very big tear for the last 7 quarters now. Wondering if you could talk about some of the initiatives or bold beats, as Zynga used to call them, that what are you finding that's really resonating? What is keeping these games that have been out for a number of years still relevant and drawing in new players?
Speaker #6: Wondering if you could talk about some of the initiatives or bold beats Zingy you're finding that's really resonating, what is keeping these games that have been out for a number of years still relevant and drawing in new players.
Speaker #5: Well, our Zingy team still refers to bold beats. They're a big part of what we do. And just to put a fine point on it, you're right.
Strauss Zelnick: Well, our Zynga team still refers to bold beats. They're a big part of what we do. And just to put a fine point on it, you're right. Our mobile business is up 19% year over year. Toon Blast was up 43%, Match Factory 17%, Empires and Puzzles 11%, Words with Friends 6%, and Color Block Jam is a huge hit for Rollic. And that really is the tip of the iceberg. We really are firing on all cylinders at Zynga and also with 2K's mobile properties. What do I think is going on? Look, I think we are actually making hits. And that is still pretty unusual in the mobile business. The hardest thing to do is create new hits in the mobile business.
Strauss Zelnick: Well, our Zynga team still refers to bold beats. They're a big part of what we do. And just to put a fine point on it, you're right. Our mobile business is up 19% year over year. Toon Blast was up 43%, Match Factory 17%, Empires and Puzzles 11%, Words with Friends 6%, and Color Block Jam is a huge hit for Rollic. And that really is the tip of the iceberg. We really are firing on all cylinders at Zynga and also with 2K's mobile properties. What do I think is going on? Look, I think we are actually making hits. And that is still pretty unusual in the mobile business. The hardest thing to do is create new hits in the mobile business.
Speaker #5: Our mobile business is up 19% year over year. Tomblast was up 43%, Match Factory 17%, Empires & Puzzles 11%, Words With Friends 6%, and Color Block Jam is a huge hit for ROLIC.
Speaker #5: And that really is the tip of the iceberg. We really are firing on all cylinders at Zingy and also with 2K's mobile properties. What do I think is going on?
Speaker #5: Look, I think we are actually making hits, and that is still pretty unusual in the mobile business. The hardest thing to do is create new hits in the mobile business.
Speaker #5: And Zingy has proven an ability to do so. By doing what we do, which is creating a home for the best talent in the business, encouraging them to pursue their passions, and supporting them and marketing with an A+ structure and a really strong balance sheet.
Strauss Zelnick: Zynga has proven an ability to do so by doing what we do, which is creating a home for the best talent in the business, encouraging them to pursue their passions, and supporting them and marketing with an A-plus structure and a really strong balance sheet. It's really hard to do that. There aren't very many companies that are doing it. I believe we're the only company that's doing it over and over again. You are right also, though, that the backdrop is strong. There was a disappointing moment in mid-2022, which is as it happens when we acquired Zynga, where for the first time, the mobile market was down post-pandemic. It was down more than we expected. It took a while to rebound. The market has rebounded. There are tailwinds.
Strauss Zelnick: Zynga has proven an ability to do so by doing what we do, which is creating a home for the best talent in the business, encouraging them to pursue their passions, and supporting them and marketing with an A-plus structure and a really strong balance sheet. It's really hard to do that. There aren't very many companies that are doing it. I believe we're the only company that's doing it over and over again. You are right also, though, that the backdrop is strong. There was a disappointing moment in mid-2022, which is as it happens when we acquired Zynga, where for the first time, the mobile market was down post-pandemic. It was down more than we expected. It took a while to rebound. The market has rebounded. There are tailwinds.
Speaker #5: It's really hard to do that. There aren't very many companies that are doing it. I believe we're the only company that's doing it over and over again.
Speaker #5: You are right also, though, that the backdrop is strong. There was a disappointing moment in mid '22, which is, as it happens, when we acquired Zingy, where for the first time the mobile market was down post-pandemic.
Speaker #5: And it was down more than we expected, and it took a while to rebound. There are tailwinds, and to rebound. So much as I'd like to take credit for the market and all of the team's success—A, that's not really my style; B, I do think a rising tide lifts all ships, and we are benefiting from consumer engagement with mobile games.
Strauss Zelnick: So much as I'd like to take credit for all of the team's success, A, that's not really my style, B, I do think a rising tide lifts all ships. And we are benefiting from consumer engagement with mobile games.
Strauss Zelnick: So much as I'd like to take credit for all of the team's success, A, that's not really my style, B, I do think a rising tide lifts all ships. And we are benefiting from consumer engagement with mobile games.
Speaker #6: Great. That's helpful. I also wondered, would you be willing to sort of give some type of indication of what percentage of your mobile recurrent spending is coming from direct-to-consumer?
Speaker #6: Great, that's helpful. I also wondered, would you be willing to sort of give some type of indication of what percentage of your mobile recurrent spending is coming from—
[Analyst] (Roth Capital Partners): Great. That's helpful. I also wondered, would you be willing to sort of give some type of indication of what percentage of your mobile recurrent spending is coming from direct-to-consumer?
Eric Handler: Great. That's helpful. I also wondered, would you be willing to sort of give some type of indication of what percentage of your mobile recurrent spending is coming from direct-to-consumer?
Speaker #5: It's meaningful. We haven't actually given a number. The environment for direct-to-consumer is improving. It has been a big strategy since we acquired Zingy. You may recall when we talked about the synergies that we would find on the revenue side.
Strauss Zelnick: It's meaningful. We haven't actually given a number. The environment for direct-to-consumer is improving. It has been a big strategy since we acquired Zynga. You may recall when we talked about the synergies that we would find on the revenue side; I said in calls right after the acquisition that we thought the potential for direct-to-consumer could be seen as a revenue synergy because effectively, what happens is we actually capture a higher share of those revenues and enhance our margins. The recent regulatory environment has become much more favorable. We also predicted that. And I do think we're going to continue to see third-party take rates decline, which will drop to the bottom line.
Strauss Zelnick: It's meaningful. We haven't actually given a number. The environment for direct-to-consumer is improving. It has been a big strategy since we acquired Zynga. You may recall when we talked about the synergies that we would find on the revenue side; I said in calls right after the acquisition that we thought the potential for direct-to-consumer could be seen as a revenue synergy because effectively, what happens is we actually capture a higher share of those revenues and enhance our margins. The recent regulatory environment has become much more favorable. We also predicted that. And I do think we're going to continue to see third-party take rates decline, which will drop to the bottom line.
Speaker #5: I said, in calls right after the acquisition, that we thought the potential for direct-to-consumer could be seen as a revenue synergy. Because, effectively, what happens is we actually capture a higher share of those revenues and enhance our margins.
Speaker #5: The recent regulatory environment has become much more favorable. We also predicted that, and I do think we're going to continue to see third-party take rates decline.
Speaker #5: Which will drop to the bottom line.
Speaker #6: Thanks. Your next question comes from
[Analyst] (Roth Capital Partners): Thanks.
Eric Handler: Thanks.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Colin Sebastian with Baird. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Colin Sebastian with Baird. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: the line of Colin Sebastian with Baird. Please go
Speaker #3: ahead. Yeah, thanks,
[Analyst] (Baird): Yeah. Thanks, everyone. A couple of questions for me. And maybe first, continuing on the RCS theme of growth, maybe you could expand a bit on the safe house expansion in terms of driving higher levels of engagement. Are there specific learnings from that informing other future content updates? And I guess, secondly, maybe to Strauss, how are you thinking about capital allocation priorities with the growing cash balance, which is likely also going to expand quite a bit later this year? Thank you.
Colin Sebastian: Yeah. Thanks, everyone. A couple of questions for me. And maybe first, continuing on the RCS theme of growth, maybe you could expand a bit on the safe house expansion in terms of driving higher levels of engagement. Are there specific learnings from that informing other future content updates? And I guess, secondly, maybe to Strauss, how are you thinking about capital allocation priorities with the growing cash balance, which is likely also going to expand quite a bit later this year? Thank you.
Speaker #4: Everyone, a couple of questions from me, and maybe first, continuing on the RCS theme of growth. Maybe you could expand a bit on the Safe House expansion in terms of driving a higher level of engagement.
Speaker #4: Are there specific learnings from that informing other future content updates? And I guess, secondly—maybe to Strauss—how are you thinking about capital allocation priorities with the growing cash balance, which is likely also going to expand quite a bit later this year?
Speaker #4: Thank
Speaker #5: So what we learned from a safe house in the hills update is that when you deliver great material, consumers show up, and Rockstar always aims to do the best possible work. Some of the content updates have performed better than others, and this one has been nothing short of stellar.
Strauss Zelnick: So what we learned from a Safe House in the Hills update is that when you deliver great material, consumers show up. Rockstar always aims to do the best possible work. Some of the content updates have performed better than others. This one has been nothing short of stellar. But I think the broader point is the one that matters, which is as we head into the release of GTA 6, I think there was some trepidation on the fear of market participants that GTA 5 or GTA Online would somehow become less relevant. I think the contrary is true. The anticipation is yielding even more engagement with GTA. GTA 5, of course, has now sold in 225 million units. But what's it all driven by?
Strauss Zelnick: So what we learned from a Safe House in the Hills update is that when you deliver great material, consumers show up. Rockstar always aims to do the best possible work. Some of the content updates have performed better than others. This one has been nothing short of stellar. But I think the broader point is the one that matters, which is as we head into the release of GTA 6, I think there was some trepidation on the fear of market participants that GTA 5 or GTA Online would somehow become less relevant. I think the contrary is true. The anticipation is yielding even more engagement with GTA. GTA 5, of course, has now sold in 225 million units. But what's it all driven by?
Speaker #5: But I think the broader point is the one that matters, which is as we head into the release of GTA 6, I think there was some trepidation on the fear of market participants, that GTA 5 or GTA Online would somehow become less relevant.
Speaker #5: And I think the contrary is true. The anticipation is yielding even more engagement with GTA. GTA V, of course, has now sold 225 million units.
Speaker #5: But what's it all driven by? The reason that GTA is so extraordinary is because Rockstar makes an extraordinary game, and continues to make extraordinary features and additions and opportunities.
Strauss Zelnick: The reason that GTA is so extraordinary is because Rockstar makes an extraordinary game and continues to make extraordinary features, additions, and opportunities. A safe house update basically shows that. This is an example of where our strategy pays off, where focus on creativity pays off.
Strauss Zelnick: The reason that GTA is so extraordinary is because Rockstar makes an extraordinary game and continues to make extraordinary features, additions, and opportunities. A safe house update basically shows that. This is an example of where our strategy pays off, where focus on creativity pays off.
Speaker #5: And a safe house update basically shows that. So this is an example of where our strategy pays off. We're focused on creativity, pays off.
Speaker #6: And.
[Analyst] (Roth Capital Partners): And.
Eric Handler: And.
Speaker #5: I'm sorry, in your second
Strauss Zelnick: I'm sorry. And your second question. Sorry. I was so excited with my words there. I got diverted from your second. I thought that was pretty poetic myself. But in any case, capital allocation remains unchanged. So we have three uses of our capital. And I agree that if things go well and as planned, our cash balance should continue to grow. And of course, we are generating significantly more operating cash flow than expected this year with these results. The first is, of course, to support organic growth. That's been our story here. This is an organic growth company with a handful of very selective acquisitions, thankfully all accretive ones, most notably the acquisition of Zynga in 2022. So that leads me to the second use of our capital, which is inorganic growth opportunities. And we'll continue to pursue those in just a selective and disciplined way.
Strauss Zelnick: I'm sorry. And your second question. Sorry. I was so excited with my words there. I got diverted from your second. I thought that was pretty poetic myself. But in any case, capital allocation remains unchanged. So we have three uses of our capital. And I agree that if things go well and as planned, our cash balance should continue to grow. And of course, we are generating significantly more operating cash flow than expected this year with these results. The first is, of course, to support organic growth. That's been our story here. This is an organic growth company with a handful of very selective acquisitions, thankfully all accretive ones, most notably the acquisition of Zynga in 2022. So that leads me to the second use of our capital, which is inorganic growth opportunities. And we'll continue to pursue those in just a selective and disciplined way.
Speaker #5: question, sorry, I was so excited with my words there. I got diverted from your second. I thought that was pretty poetic myself. But in any case, capital allocation remains unchanged.
Speaker #5: So, we have three uses of our capital, and I agree that if things go well and as planned, our cash balance should continue to grow.
Speaker #5: And of course, we are generating significantly more operating cash flow than expected this year. With these results, the first is, of course, to support organic growth.
Speaker #5: That's been our story here. This is an organic growth company with a handful of very selective acquisitions, thankfully all accretive ones, most notably the acquisition of Zingy in 2022.
Speaker #5: To the second use of our capital, which is—so that leads me to inorganic growth opportunities. And we'll continue to pursue those in just a selective and disciplined way.
Speaker #5: And we are looking only for accretive opportunities. And the third is to return capital to the shareholders, which we've done over and over again.
Strauss Zelnick: And we are looking only for accretive opportunities. And the third is to return capital to the shareholders, which we've done over and over again. We've typically done so opportunistically with buybacks. And thankfully, our buybacks have all turned out to be good for the shareholders in the fullness of time. I am a believer that you do buybacks when your balance sheet can afford it on the one hand and when you can do so at deep value on the other hand. Our most recent buyback was executed at about $158 a share. There were some moments where people thought that was a bad thing. Turns out it was a very good thing.
Strauss Zelnick: And we are looking only for accretive opportunities. And the third is to return capital to the shareholders, which we've done over and over again. We've typically done so opportunistically with buybacks. And thankfully, our buybacks have all turned out to be good for the shareholders in the fullness of time. I am a believer that you do buybacks when your balance sheet can afford it on the one hand and when you can do so at deep value on the other hand. Our most recent buyback was executed at about $158 a share. There were some moments where people thought that was a bad thing. Turns out it was a very good thing.
Speaker #5: We've typically done so opportunistically, with buybacks. And, thankfully, our buybacks have all turned out to be good for the shareholders in the fullness of time.
Speaker #5: I am a believer that you do buybacks when your balance sheet can afford it, on the one hand, and when you can do so at deep value, on the other hand.
Speaker #5: Our most recent buyback was executed at about $158 a share. There were some moments where people thought that was a bad thing. Turns out it was a very good
Speaker #5: thing. Thanks,
[Analyst] (Roth Capital Partners): Thanks, Strauss.
Eric Handler: Thanks, Strauss.
Speaker #6: Strauss.
Speaker #3: Your next question comes from the line of Chris Scholl with UBS. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Chris Scholl with UBS. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Chris Scholl with UBS. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: ahead.
Speaker #7: Great, thank
[Analyst] (UBS): Great. Thank you. You've seen consistent outperformance with NBA 2K and continue to post very strong growth despite the difficult comparisons. You just told Traun what is resonating most, do you think, with players? And as you think about the next leg of growth of the franchise, what do you see as the biggest opportunity? Is it going to be growth internationally, expanding the user base, or enhancing monetization? Thank you.
Chris Soh: Great. Thank you. You've seen consistent outperformance with NBA 2K and continue to post very strong growth despite the difficult comparisons. You just told Traun what is resonating most, do you think, with players? And as you think about the next leg of growth of the franchise, what do you see as the biggest opportunity? Is it going to be growth internationally, expanding the user base, or enhancing monetization? Thank you.
Speaker #7: You've seen consistent outperformance with NBA 2K and continue to post very strong growth despite the difficult comparisons. You just touched on what is resonating most, do you think, with players?
Speaker #7: And as you think about the next leg of growth for the franchise, what do you see as the biggest opportunity? Is it going to be growth internationally, expanding the user base, or enhancing monetization?
Speaker #7: Thank
Speaker #7: you.
Speaker #2: So, it's hard to put, it's hard to—
Karl Slatoff: So it's hard to say that one particular thing is driving the success of NBA. Obviously, it's been an incredible year for us, selling a lot of units. And also, the performance of RCS across the board and engagement has been off the charts, 30+% year-over-year on basically every mode that we have. Those things don't come easy. And I think the best way to describe why this works for us is because it's the way that VC and 2K run their business, which is really in the state of perpetual diligence. They're constantly communicating with the consumer, seeing what the consumer's doing, watching how they play, seeing what works, doesn't work, and refining the game year after year. And it's that maniacal attention to detail when you add it up year-over-year that culminates in so much success.
Karl Slatoff: So it's hard to say that one particular thing is driving the success of NBA. Obviously, it's been an incredible year for us, selling a lot of units. And also, the performance of RCS across the board and engagement has been off the charts, 30+% year-over-year on basically every mode that we have. Those things don't come easy. And I think the best way to describe why this works for us is because it's the way that VC and 2K run their business, which is really in the state of perpetual diligence. They're constantly communicating with the consumer, seeing what the consumer's doing, watching how they play, seeing what works, doesn't work, and refining the game year after year. And it's that maniacal attention to detail when you add it up year-over-year that culminates in so much success.
Speaker #2: Say that one particular thing is driving the success of NBA. Obviously, it's been an incredible year for us. Selling a lot of units and also the performance of RCS across the board, and engagement has been off the charts—30-plus percent year over year.
Speaker #2: On basically every mode that we have. Those things don't come easy. And I think the best way to describe why this works for us is because it's the way that VC and 2K run their business, which is really in a state of perpetual diligence.
Speaker #2: They're constantly communicating with the consumer, seeing what the consumer is doing, watching how they play, seeing what works, what doesn't work, and refining the game year after year.
Speaker #2: Maniacal attention to detail. And it's that you add it up year over year that culminates in so much success. And this is one of those years where everything was just humming in the right direction.
Karl Slatoff: This is one of those years where everything was just humming in the right direction. And on top of that, there's always an effort every year to do something a little bit different and a little new. For example, the cruise this year, which is a really interesting concept. People can pair up together with 50 people, play against other teams. And it's a really exciting thing, a social thing, which has had a pretty big impact on the My Career mode. So it's not one thing. It's everything. And I'd say it's culture as much as it is anything else. I think there was a second part. Oh, biggest opportunity.
Karl Slatoff: This is one of those years where everything was just humming in the right direction. And on top of that, there's always an effort every year to do something a little bit different and a little new. For example, the cruise this year, which is a really interesting concept. People can pair up together with 50 people, play against other teams. And it's a really exciting thing, a social thing, which has had a pretty big impact on the My Career mode. So it's not one thing. It's everything. And I'd say it's culture as much as it is anything else. I think there was a second part. Oh, biggest opportunity.
Speaker #2: Always an effort every year to, and on top of that, there's do something a little bit different, a little new. For example, the Cruise this year, which is a really interesting concept.
Speaker #2: People can pair up together with 50 people, play against other teams, and it's a really exciting thing. A social thing, which has had a pretty big impact on the MyCareer mode.
Speaker #2: So it's not one thing, it's everything. And I'd say it's culture as much as it is anything else. I think there was a second part.
Speaker #2: Oh, biggest opportunity. Well, first of all, the biggest opportunity is to continue to do more of what I just described, which will lead to a higher install base of folks and also to higher engagement, which ultimately leads to higher monetization.
Karl Slatoff: Well, first of all, the biggest opportunity is to continue to do more of what I just described, which will lead to a higher installed base of folks and also to higher engagement, which ultimately leads to higher monetization. I do believe that there is a significant international expansion opportunity. The NBA continues to be an amazing partner for us. They're expanding internationally. Basketball is a global sport. And we've got that going for us. So I think that will help us drive. And just without regard to just the NBA expanding, there are lots of opportunities for us to expand also in North America as well as we grow with the brand in partnership with NBA. So at this point, I think the sky is still the limit. We surprise ourselves every year. The game goes better and better. So we're very optimistic about the future, obviously.
Karl Slatoff: Well, first of all, the biggest opportunity is to continue to do more of what I just described, which will lead to a higher installed base of folks and also to higher engagement, which ultimately leads to higher monetization. I do believe that there is a significant international expansion opportunity. The NBA continues to be an amazing partner for us. They're expanding internationally. Basketball is a global sport. And we've got that going for us. So I think that will help us drive. And just without regard to just the NBA expanding, there are lots of opportunities for us to expand also in North America as well as we grow with the brand in partnership with NBA. So at this point, I think the sky is still the limit. We surprise ourselves every year. The game goes better and better. So we're very optimistic about the future, obviously.
Speaker #2: I do believe that there is a significant international expansion opportunity. The NBA continues to be an amazing partner for us—they're expanding internationally. Basketball is a global sport, and we've got that going for us.
Speaker #2: So I think that will help us drive. And just without regard to just the NBA expanding, there are lots of opportunities for us to expand also within North America as well.
Speaker #2: As we grow with the brand and in partnership with the NBA, at this point, I think the sky is still the limit. We surprise ourselves every year.
Speaker #2: The game goes better and better, so we're very optimistic about the future.
Speaker #2: obviously. Your next question comes
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Andrew Marok with Raymond James. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Andrew Marok with Raymond James. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: From the line of Andrew Maroc with Raymond James. Please go ahead.
Speaker #6: Hi, specifically, again, back to the commentary on generative AI. We, ahead, hear loud and clear Take-Two's ability to harness that. But maybe on Genie specifically, we've been getting a lot of questions from investors about the similarities and differences between world models and game engines.
[Analyst] (Raymond James): Hi. Thanks for taking my question. Maybe specifically, again, back to the commentary on generative AI. We hear loud and clear, Take-Two's ability to harness that. But maybe on Genie specifically, we've been getting a lot of questions from investors about the similarities and differences between world models and game engines. Can you maybe give us an overview of what you think tools like Genie can and cannot do as it relates to some of the proprietary game engines that you operate? Thank you.
Andrew Marok: Hi. Thanks for taking my question. Maybe specifically, again, back to the commentary on generative AI. We hear loud and clear, Take-Two's ability to harness that. But maybe on Genie specifically, we've been getting a lot of questions from investors about the similarities and differences between world models and game engines. Can you maybe give us an overview of what you think tools like Genie can and cannot do as it relates to some of the proprietary game engines that you operate? Thank you.
Speaker #6: Thanks for taking my question. Maybe
Speaker #6: Can you maybe give us an overview of what you think tools like Genie can and cannot do as it relates to some of the proprietary game engines that you operate?
Speaker #6: Thank you.
Speaker #2: So, in terms of commenting on the specific technology, I think—I don't think we're going to go into great detail about the tech differences.
Karl Slatoff: So in terms of commenting on the specific technology, I don't think we're going to go into great details about the tech differences because, frankly, Genie's early in its iteration at this point. And trying to make a comparison to a game engine is just really, they're not even in the same ballpark. Genie is not a game engine. And it's very exciting technology. And I think the question is, how can it benefit our creators? And I would say, look, I mean, it looks to me more like a procedurally generated interactive video. At this point, there are limitations. And Google has said as much. So to compare the technologies, I think there's really no way to do that because they're so far apart.
Karl Slatoff: So in terms of commenting on the specific technology, I don't think we're going to go into great details about the tech differences because, frankly, Genie's early in its iteration at this point. And trying to make a comparison to a game engine is just really, they're not even in the same ballpark. Genie is not a game engine. And it's very exciting technology. And I think the question is, how can it benefit our creators? And I would say, look, I mean, it looks to me more like a procedurally generated interactive video. At this point, there are limitations. And Google has said as much. So to compare the technologies, I think there's really no way to do that because they're so far apart.
Speaker #2: Because frankly, Genie is early in its iteration at this point. And trying to make a comparison to a game engine is just really not even in the same ballpark.
Speaker #2: It's very exciting technology, and I think the question is, Genie is not a game engine. And how can it benefit our creators?
Speaker #2: And I think there will be a moment in time where that will become more defined. It certainly doesn't replace the creative process. And I would say, look, I mean, it looks to me more like a procedurally generated interactive video at this point.
Speaker #2: There are limitations, and Google has said as much. So, to compare the technologies, I think there's really no way to do that because they're so far apart.
Speaker #2: And there are so many more elements to game development that go beyond, quote, world creation. And the question is, what does world creation mean? So even beyond world creation, there's everything else that's involved.
Karl Slatoff: There are so many more elements to game development that go beyond "world creation." The question is, what is world creation? Even beyond world creation, there's everything else that's involved. There's the storyline. There's emotional connection. There's vibe. There's mission structure. All of those things, you cannot capture through AI and certainly not through a world builder. That's just a very, very small component of what we do. If this tool bears out, it will make a component of what we do all that much better and more efficient.
Karl Slatoff: There are so many more elements to game development that go beyond "world creation." The question is, what is world creation? Even beyond world creation, there's everything else that's involved. There's the storyline. There's emotional connection. There's vibe. There's mission structure. All of those things, you cannot capture through AI and certainly not through a world builder. That's just a very, very small component of what we do. If this tool bears out, it will make a component of what we do all that much better and more efficient.
Speaker #2: There's the storyline. There's emotional connection. There's vibe. There's mission. All of those things, you cannot capture through AI, and certainly not through a world builder.
Speaker #2: So that's just a very, very small component of what we do. And if this tool bears out, it will make a component of what we do all that much better and more efficient.
Speaker #6: Great, thank
[Analyst] (Raymond James): Great. Thank you.
Andrew Marok: Great. Thank you.
Speaker #6: you.
Speaker #3: Your next question comes from
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Ed Alter with Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Ed Alter with Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: the line of Ed Alter with question.
Speaker #3: Jefferies. Please go
Speaker #3: ahead. Thanks for the
[Analyst] (UBS): Thanks for the question. I want to dig into your mobile advertising results. I think this is the second time that you guys have grown that year-over-year since acquiring Zynga. So I just wanted to dig into what's going so right there and what kind of the opportunity for continued growth in the mobile advertising space is for you guys.
Chris Soh: Thanks for the question. I want to dig into your mobile advertising results. I think this is the second time that you guys have grown that year-over-year since acquiring Zynga. So I just wanted to dig into what's going so right there and what kind of the opportunity for continued growth in the mobile advertising space is for you guys.
Speaker #7: I want to dig into your app mobile advertising results. I think this is the second time that you guys have grown that year over year since acquiring Zynga.
Speaker #7: So just wanted to dig into what's going so right there and where. Kind of the opportunity for continued growth in the mobile advertising spaces for you guys.
Speaker #8: That's pretty simple. When we took over Zynga, there weren't a lot of ad units in most of the games. And we have selectively added ad units pretty much across the board—not entirely.
Strauss Zelnick: That's pretty simple. When we took over Zynga, there weren't a lot of ad units in most of the games. We have selectively added ad units pretty much across the board, not entirely. Certain games don't merit that. Also, I think Zynga has been very smart about the way they go about monetizing that advertising. There really is much more opportunity there without interfering with the experience at all. The strategy ultimately is to make sure that one way or another, we monetize the bulk of our users. As you know, in the mobile games business, fewer than 20% of your users actually engage with you to pay. Without creating any friction in the experience, we think there's an opportunity selectively to apply advertising for the part of the market that doesn't currently want to pay. Experiences have to be great across the board.
Strauss Zelnick: That's pretty simple. When we took over Zynga, there weren't a lot of ad units in most of the games. We have selectively added ad units pretty much across the board, not entirely. Certain games don't merit that. Also, I think Zynga has been very smart about the way they go about monetizing that advertising. There really is much more opportunity there without interfering with the experience at all. The strategy ultimately is to make sure that one way or another, we monetize the bulk of our users. As you know, in the mobile games business, fewer than 20% of your users actually engage with you to pay. Without creating any friction in the experience, we think there's an opportunity selectively to apply advertising for the part of the market that doesn't currently want to pay. Experiences have to be great across the board.
Speaker #8: Certain games don't merit that. Also, I think Zynga has been very smart about the way they go about monetizing that advertising. And there really is much more opportunity there.
Speaker #8: Without interfering with the experience at all. The strategy ultimately is to make sure that one way or another, we monetize the bulk of our users.
Speaker #8: As you know, in the mobile games business, fewer than 20% of your users actually engage with you to pay. And without creating any friction in the experience, we think there's an opportunity selectively to apply advertising to the part of the market that doesn't currently want to pay.
Speaker #8: So experiences have to be great across the board. That's our job, right? We deliver great entertainment experiences. And equally, we have an obligation to monetize those experiences so that we can pay our creators and keep making hits.
Strauss Zelnick: That's our job, right? We deliver great entertainment experiences. Equally, we have an obligation to monetize those experiences so that we can pay our creators and keep making hits.
Strauss Zelnick: That's our job, right? We deliver great entertainment experiences. Equally, we have an obligation to monetize those experiences so that we can pay our creators and keep making hits.
Speaker #6: Great, thanks. How is the impending GTA 6—and given your comments on it being a positive for GTA Online in its current form—how do you view what GTA Online is going to be? Will the current iteration continue once GTA 6 does come?
[Analyst] (UBS): Great. Thanks. Given your comments on how the impending GTA 6 is a positive for GTA Online in its current form, what is your view on what GTA Online is going to continue to be, the current iteration, once GTA 6 does come out?
Chris Soh: Great. Thanks. Given your comments on how the impending GTA 6 is a positive for GTA Online in its current form, what is your view on what GTA Online is going to continue to be, the current iteration, once GTA 6 does come out?
Speaker #6: out? Look, Rockstar
Strauss Zelnick: Look, Rockstar Games is the locus of information about where the titles go, content, and marketing. Generally, we have a pretty light touch when we talk about the label's creative activities. At the same time, I have every reason to believe we'll continue to support GTA Online. There's a great community that loves it, that stays engaged. Again, in this quarter, Rockstar has shown that when you deliver great additional content, despite how long GTA Online has been in market, people show up.
Strauss Zelnick: Look, Rockstar Games is the locus of information about where the titles go, content, and marketing. Generally, we have a pretty light touch when we talk about the label's creative activities. At the same time, I have every reason to believe we'll continue to support GTA Online. There's a great community that loves it, that stays engaged. Again, in this quarter, Rockstar has shown that when you deliver great additional content, despite how long GTA Online has been in market, people show up.
Speaker #8: Games is the locus of information about where the titles go, content, and marketing. And generally, we have a pretty light touch when we talk about the labels creative activities.
Speaker #8: At the same time, I have every reason to believe we'll continue to support GTA Online. There's a great community that loves it, that stays engaged.
Speaker #8: And again, in this quarter, Rockstar has shown that when you deliver how long GTA Online has been in market, people show up.
Speaker #6: Great, thank you.
[Analyst] (UBS): Great. Thank you.
Chris Soh: Great. Thank you.
Speaker #3: Your next question comes from the line of Jason Bazinet with Citi. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Jason Bazinet with Citi. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Jason Bazinet with Citi. Please go ahead.
Speaker #9: I think this was a while back, but I think when you first talked about GTA 6 coming out, you noted that, or you expected, your non-GAAP earnings to grow the year after it was released.
[Analyst] (Raymond James): I think this is a while back. But I think when you first talked about GTA 6 coming out, you noted that or you expected your non-GAAP earnings to grow the year after it was released, not just the year it is released being the base. I just wonder, is that still true? And do you mind just sort of unpacking sort of the main drivers of that? Presumably, one of it is just getting 4 quarters attribution. But what else would you say are the key drivers of that expectation if it is still true?
Andrew Marok: I think this is a while back. But I think when you first talked about GTA 6 coming out, you noted that or you expected your non-GAAP earnings to grow the year after it was released, not just the year it is released being the base. I just wonder, is that still true? And do you mind just sort of unpacking sort of the main drivers of that? Presumably, one of it is just getting 4 quarters attribution. But what else would you say are the key drivers of that expectation if it is still true?
Speaker #9: Not just the year, the year is release being the base. I just wonder, is that still true? And do you mind just sort of unpacking sort of the main drivers of that—presumably one of them is just getting four quarters attribution, but what else would you say are the key drivers of that expectation, if it is still?
Speaker #9: true?
Speaker #2: What we have
Karl Slatoff: What we have been saying is that we expect that our release schedule is going to drive sequential growth next year. And then that will bring us to establish a new baseline for our business going forward. So we haven't really been talking about detailed guidance beyond fiscal year 2026. And now, in our May earnings call, we'll give our guidance for fiscal year 2027. And we're not planning on providing detailed guidance for any years beyond that at this time because our release schedule includes numerous titles each year. And even modest shifts can have significant effect on results in any given period. So all of our years will be driven by our release schedule. And we have a very robust release schedule for the next couple of years. And that's what's really driving the growth in the business.
Karl Slatoff: What we have been saying is that we expect that our release schedule is going to drive sequential growth next year. And then that will bring us to establish a new baseline for our business going forward. So we haven't really been talking about detailed guidance beyond fiscal year 2026. And now, in our May earnings call, we'll give our guidance for fiscal year 2027. And we're not planning on providing detailed guidance for any years beyond that at this time because our release schedule includes numerous titles each year. And even modest shifts can have significant effect on results in any given period. So all of our years will be driven by our release schedule. And we have a very robust release schedule for the next couple of years. And that's what's really driving the growth in the business.
Speaker #2: been saying is that we expect that our reschedule is going to drive sequential growth next year. And then that will bring us to establish a new baseline for our business going forward.
Speaker #2: We really haven't been talking about detailed guidance beyond fiscal year '26, and now, in our May earnings call, we'll give our guidance for fiscal year '27.
Speaker #2: And we're not planning on providing years beyond that at this time. detailed guidance for any Because our reschedule includes numerous titles each year. And even modest shifts can have significant effects on results in any given period.
Speaker #2: So all of our years will be driven by our release schedule and we have a very robust release schedule for the next couple of years.
Speaker #2: And that's what's really driving the growth in the business.
Speaker #9: Perfect. Thank you.
[Analyst] (Raymond James): Perfect. Thank you.
Andrew Marok: Perfect. Thank you.
Speaker #3: Your next question comes from the line of Alec Brondolo with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Alec Brondello with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Alec Brondello with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: ahead.
Speaker #10: Yeah, hey, thank
[Analyst] (Wells Fargo): Yeah. Hey. Thank you so much for the question. It seems like the market is creating potential opportunities for M&A. So in that light, could you maybe refresh our understanding of what makes a studio appealing to Take-Two? You noted in response to a prior question that any M&A has to be accretive. And so with that said, what are the other qualities in a studio you look for? Thanks.
Alec Brondolo: Yeah. Hey. Thank you so much for the question. It seems like the market is creating potential opportunities for M&A. So in that light, could you maybe refresh our understanding of what makes a studio appealing to Take-Two? You noted in response to a prior question that any M&A has to be accretive. And so with that said, what are the other qualities in a studio you look for? Thanks.
Speaker #10: Thank you so much for the question. It seems like the market is creating potential opportunities for M&A, so in that light, could you maybe refresh our understanding of what makes a studio appealing to take to?
Speaker #10: You noted in response to a prior question that any M&A has to be accretive. And so with that said, what are the other qualities in a studio you look for?
Speaker #8: Well, you're right to ask that
Strauss Zelnick: Well, you're right to ask that because accretive is a financial calculation based on the decision to proceed. The decision is based on the talent, the technology, and the intellectual property. We think there may be some opportunities out there. You have to be incredibly selective. Broadly, in the market, as you know, most corporate M&A fails because most corporate management teams love the notion of presiding over a bigger and bigger empire. We don't look at the world that way. Our job is to entertain the world. Our job is to make the most creative properties that anyone can make and to bring them to consumers wherever they are. If there is an enterprise available on favorable terms that sits within that strategy and can operate within our unique culture, then it's potentially interesting to us.
Strauss Zelnick: Well, you're right to ask that because accretive is a financial calculation based on the decision to proceed. The decision is based on the talent, the technology, and the intellectual property. We think there may be some opportunities out there. You have to be incredibly selective. Broadly, in the market, as you know, most corporate M&A fails because most corporate management teams love the notion of presiding over a bigger and bigger empire. We don't look at the world that way. Our job is to entertain the world. Our job is to make the most creative properties that anyone can make and to bring them to consumers wherever they are. If there is an enterprise available on favorable terms that sits within that strategy and can operate within our unique culture, then it's potentially interesting to us.
Speaker #8: because accretive is a financial calculation based on the decision to proceed. The Thanks. decision is based on the talent, the technology, and the intellectual property.
Speaker #8: And we think there may be some opportunities out there. You have to be incredibly selective. Broadly, in the market, as you know, most corporate M&A fails.
Speaker #8: Because most corporate management teams love the notion of presiding over a bigger and bigger empire. We don't look at the world that way. Our job is to entertain the world.
Speaker #8: Our job is to make the most creative properties that anyone can make, and to bring them to consumers wherever they are. If there is an enterprise available on favorable terms, that sits within that strategy, and can operate within our unique culture, then it's potentially interesting to us.
Speaker #10: Thank you.
[Analyst] (Wells Fargo): Thank you.
Alec Brondolo: Thank you.
Speaker #3: Your next question comes from the line Company. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Mike Hickey with Benchmark Company. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Mike Hickey with Benchmark Company. Please go ahead.
Speaker #11: Hey, Straus, Karl Lainie, Nicole, great quarter guys. Congratulations. I guess the first question we've got to is on GTA 6. Glad to hear that summer marketing is going to start here.
[Analyst] (Benchmark Company): Hey, Strauss, Karl, Lainie, Nicole, great quarter guys. Congratulations. I guess the first question we've got too is on GTA 6. Glad to hear that summer marketing is going to start here. That's encouraging. But just sort of curious, Strauss, how much marketing you really have to do here if there's leverage versus prior releases just given the strength of GTA 5, GTA Online, the fact that this is massive pent-up demand for what will be probably the largest entertainment release of all time. It doesn't seem like you have to market much. So just curious your view there. And then I guess on the topic of affordability, which is obviously very topical, certainly within the video game space, just curious your specific thoughts given that we're sort of year 5 here, approaching year 6 of the current console cycle, and prices of consoles are going up.
Mike Hickey: Hey, Strauss, Karl, Lainie, Nicole, great quarter guys. Congratulations. I guess the first question we've got too is on GTA 6. Glad to hear that summer marketing is going to start here. That's encouraging. But just sort of curious, Strauss, how much marketing you really have to do here if there's leverage versus prior releases just given the strength of GTA 5, GTA Online, the fact that this is massive pent-up demand for what will be probably the largest entertainment release of all time. It doesn't seem like you have to market much. So just curious your view there. And then I guess on the topic of affordability, which is obviously very topical, certainly within the video game space, just curious your specific thoughts given that we're sort of year 5 here, approaching year 6 of the current console cycle, and prices of consoles are going up.
Speaker #11: That's encouraging. But I'm sort of curious, Strauss, how much marketing you really have to do here if there's leverage versus prior releases, just given the strength of GTA V, GTA Online, and the fact that there is massive pent-up demand for what will probably be the largest entertainment release of all time.
Speaker #11: Doesn't seem like you have to market much. So just curious your view there. And then I guess on the topic of affordability, which is obviously very topical, certainly within the video game space, just curious your specific thoughts given that we're sort of year five here.
Speaker #11: Approaching year six of the current console cycle and prices of consoles are going up. We've got now a memory cost issue. So they could even go up further by the time that GTA 6 comes out.
[Analyst] (Benchmark Company): We've got now a memory cost issue. So they could even go up further by the time that GTA 6 comes out. We've also seen some inflation on software. So just broadly speaking, how you think your consumer fits within that affordability picture and how you think about providing value, which I know is a centerpiece of what you've done historically? Thanks, guys.
Mike Hickey: We've got now a memory cost issue. So they could even go up further by the time that GTA 6 comes out. We've also seen some inflation on software. So just broadly speaking, how you think your consumer fits within that affordability picture and how you think about providing value, which I know is a centerpiece of what you've done historically? Thanks, guys.
Speaker #11: We've also seen some inflation on software. So just broadly speaking, how you think your consumer fits within that affordability picture and how value, which I know is a centerpiece of what you've you think about providing done historically.
Speaker #11: Thanks, guys.
Speaker #8: Hey, thanks. Mike, I mean, I love your question, your first question. Are we just going to sit back and relax as we head into the release of GTA 6?
Strauss Zelnick: Hey. Thanks, Mike. I mean, I love your first question. Are we just going to sit back and relax as we head into the release of GTA 6? I think the opposite is true. You're talking to a team that you've known for 17 years. We're in the business of eating red meat for breakfast. I think we'll be having a lot more red meat in the coming months. So we are very fortunate. The consumer anticipation for GTA 6 is indeed huge. One does have to be judicious in the way one markets such an extraordinary property. But rest assured, I think you'll be pretty astonished by the creativity that Rockstar's marketing team brings to consumers in the coming months.
Strauss Zelnick: Hey. Thanks, Mike. I mean, I love your first question. Are we just going to sit back and relax as we head into the release of GTA 6? I think the opposite is true. You're talking to a team that you've known for 17 years. We're in the business of eating red meat for breakfast. I think we'll be having a lot more red meat in the coming months. So we are very fortunate. The consumer anticipation for GTA 6 is indeed huge. One does have to be judicious in the way one markets such an extraordinary property. But rest assured, I think you'll be pretty astonished by the creativity that Rockstar's marketing team brings to consumers in the coming months.
Speaker #8: And I think the opposite is true. You're talking to a team that you've known for 17 years. And we're in the business of eating red meat for breakfast.
Speaker #8: I think we'll be having a lot more red meat in the coming months, so we are very fortunate. The consumer anticipation for GTA 6 is indeed huge.
Speaker #8: And one does have to be judicious in the way one markets such an extraordinary property. But rest assured, I think you'll be pretty astonished by the creativity that Rockstar's marketing team brings to consumers in the coming months.
Speaker #8: On the affordability question, we do feel a compact with the consumer. We've talked about for a very long time to deliver way more value than what we charge.
Strauss Zelnick: On the affordability question, we do feel a compact with the consumer we've talked about for a very long time to deliver way more value than what we charge. I think we're known for that. We're in the business of entertaining people. We're not in the business of creating revenue. Revenue comes from entertaining people. Interactive entertainment on a real basis is getting more and more affordable all the time because we offer extraordinary value for the money. People engage with our properties for hours and hours and hours. On a real basis, frontline prices have declined in the past 20 years, meaningfully declined. So we see it the same way, which is we do believe in democratizing access to what we do around here. We want everyone to be able to engage. I just mentioned it in terms of mobile.
Strauss Zelnick: On the affordability question, we do feel a compact with the consumer we've talked about for a very long time to deliver way more value than what we charge. I think we're known for that. We're in the business of entertaining people. We're not in the business of creating revenue. Revenue comes from entertaining people. Interactive entertainment on a real basis is getting more and more affordable all the time because we offer extraordinary value for the money. People engage with our properties for hours and hours and hours. On a real basis, frontline prices have declined in the past 20 years, meaningfully declined. So we see it the same way, which is we do believe in democratizing access to what we do around here. We want everyone to be able to engage. I just mentioned it in terms of mobile.
Speaker #8: I think we're known for that. And we're in the business of entertaining people. We're not in the business of creating revenue. Revenue comes from entertaining people.
Speaker #8: And interactive entertainment on a real basis is getting more and more affordable all the time, because we offer extraordinary value for the money. People engage with our properties for hours and hours and hours.
Speaker #8: And on a real basis, frontline prices have declined in the past 20 years. Meaningfully declined. So we see it the same way, which is we do believe in democratizing access to what we do around here.
Speaker #8: We want everyone to be able to engage. of mobile. You want to have a great mobile I just mentioned it in terms experience. We offer the best mobile experiences on earth free.
Strauss Zelnick: You want to have a great mobile experience. We offer the best mobile experiences on Earth, free. And you can play them and have a wonderful experience completely free. On the console side, of course, that's not expected by consumers because of the deep value that we bring. And consumers do expect to pay for that. But on a real basis, we're making it more and more affordable and more and more accessible.
Strauss Zelnick: You want to have a great mobile experience. We offer the best mobile experiences on Earth, free. And you can play them and have a wonderful experience completely free. On the console side, of course, that's not expected by consumers because of the deep value that we bring. And consumers do expect to pay for that. But on a real basis, we're making it more and more affordable and more and more accessible.
Speaker #8: And you can play them and have a wonderful experience completely free. On the console side, of course, that's not expected by consumers because of the deep value that we bring.
Speaker #8: And consumers do expect to pay for that. But on a real basis, we're making it more and more affordable, and more and more—
Speaker #8: accessible. Your next question comes from the line
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Drew Crum with B. Riley Securities. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Drew Crum with B. Riley Securities. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: of Drew Crumb with B Riley Securities. Please go
Speaker #3: ahead. Okay, thanks.
[Analyst] (Wells Fargo): Okay. Thanks, hey, guys. Good afternoon. So you have a few undated mobile titles as part of your frontline release schedule. Recognizing it's been a tough launch market for new titles for a while now, based on the strength you're experiencing with your mobile business, can you comment on what you're seeing in terms of market dynamics for launching new games and whether the backdrop is more supportive of delivering new hits? Thanks.
Alec Brondolo: Okay. Thanks, hey, guys. Good afternoon. So you have a few undated mobile titles as part of your frontline release schedule. Recognizing it's been a tough launch market for new titles for a while now, based on the strength you're experiencing with your mobile business, can you comment on what you're seeing in terms of market dynamics for launching new games and whether the backdrop is more supportive of delivering new hits? Thanks.
Speaker #10: Hey guys, good afternoon. So you have a few undated mobile titles as part of your frontline release schedule. Recognizing it's been for a while now, based on the strength of your experiencing with your mobile business, can you comment on what you're seeing in terms of market dynamics for launching new games and whether the backdrop is more supportive of delivering new hits?
Speaker #10: Thanks.
Strauss Zelnick: There are really only two companies in the mobile space who are delivering new hits in the last 5 years. We're one of them. It's super hard. It's incredibly hard. It's been hard. You're quite right. Ever since you had to pay for user acquisition, which is the better part of, I guess, 9 years, it's become much more difficult. The early days of mobile, of course, it was a new market. People are very accepting of new IP and new markets. We're exceedingly respectful of the difficulty of launching any new hit. That includes in our mobile space. I do think the Zynga team has come up with an approach that is more likely to succeed more regularly than our prior approach because it took us a while to arrive at this.
Strauss Zelnick: There are really only two companies in the mobile space who are delivering new hits in the last 5 years. We're one of them. It's super hard. It's incredibly hard. It's been hard. You're quite right. Ever since you had to pay for user acquisition, which is the better part of, I guess, 9 years, it's become much more difficult. The early days of mobile, of course, it was a new market. People are very accepting of new IP and new markets. We're exceedingly respectful of the difficulty of launching any new hit. That includes in our mobile space. I do think the Zynga team has come up with an approach that is more likely to succeed more regularly than our prior approach because it took us a while to arrive at this.
Speaker #8: Who are delivering new hits in the last five years? There really are only two companies in the mobile space. We're one of them. It's super hard.
Speaker #8: It's been hard. You're quite right. Ever since It's incredibly hard. you had to pay for user guess, nine years, it's become much more acquisition, which is the better part of, I difficult.
Speaker #8: And the early days of mobile, of course, it was a new market and people are very accepting of new IP and new markets. So we're exceedingly respectful of the difficulty of launching any new hit.
Speaker #8: space. I do think the Zynga And that includes in our mobile team has come up with an approach that is more likely to succeed more regularly than our prior approach.
Speaker #8: while they'll arrive at this. Because once again, I sort of be selective. And focus on the best talent in the business. Make sure that that talent pursues their passion.
Strauss Zelnick: Once again, it's sort of be selective and focus on the best talent in the business. Make sure that that talent pursues their passion. And then, of course, listen to the data and iterate according to the data. But you can't iterate at the beginning to create a hit. You need creative passion to create the hit from which you build.
Strauss Zelnick: Once again, it's sort of be selective and focus on the best talent in the business. Make sure that that talent pursues their passion. And then, of course, listen to the data and iterate according to the data. But you can't iterate at the beginning to create a hit. You need creative passion to create the hit from which you build.
Speaker #8: And then, of course, listen to the data. And iterate according to the data. But you can't iterate at the beginning to create a hit.
Speaker #8: You need to create a passion to create the hit from which you
Speaker #8: build.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Brian Pitz with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Brian Pitz with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: The line of Brian Pitts with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: ahead.
Speaker #11: Thanks for the question.
[Analyst] (BMO Capital Markets): Thanks for the question. Strauss, we saw your recent announcement of Cfx Marketplace, which appears to be a push in the direction of UGC Gaming. Can you talk more about this launch and how you're thinking about the broader opportunity and also maybe any insights around developer economics of the marketplace with respect to bookings? Thank you.
Brian Pitz: Thanks for the question. Strauss, we saw your recent announcement of Cfx Marketplace, which appears to be a push in the direction of UGC Gaming. Can you talk more about this launch and how you're thinking about the broader opportunity and also maybe any insights around developer economics of the marketplace with respect to bookings? Thank you.
Speaker #11: Strauss, we saw your recent announcement of CFX Marketplace, which appears to be a push in the direction of UGC gaming. Can you talk more about this launch and how you're thinking about the broader opportunity?
Speaker #11: And also, maybe any insights around developer economics of the marketplace with respect to bookings? Thank you.
Speaker #8: I mean, I think that we've always welcomed, for quite some time, user-generated content. We have that in numerous parts of our business. Of course, we have the role-playing server business at Rockstar.
Strauss Zelnick: I mean, I think that we've always welcomed for quite some time user-generated content. We have that in numerous parts of our business. Of course, we have the role-playing server business at Rockstar. So we see this as an important and interesting development with more opportunity to come. At the end of the day, what we're known for here is our creators making the very best in entertainment. That's our job. And we think that that never goes away as a driver of the business. At the same time, there are users who want to create and engage. And we want to create a home for them as well. And tools that make that more viable and more accessible could be an opportunity for us.
Strauss Zelnick: I mean, I think that we've always welcomed for quite some time user-generated content. We have that in numerous parts of our business. Of course, we have the role-playing server business at Rockstar. So we see this as an important and interesting development with more opportunity to come. At the end of the day, what we're known for here is our creators making the very best in entertainment. That's our job. And we think that that never goes away as a driver of the business. At the same time, there are users who want to create and engage. And we want to create a home for them as well. And tools that make that more viable and more accessible could be an opportunity for us.
Speaker #8: So we see this as an important and interesting development with more opportunity to come. At the end of the day, what we're known for here is our creators making the very best in entertainment.
Speaker #8: And that's our job. And we think that that never goes away as a driver of the business. At the same time, there are users who want to create and engage.
Speaker #8: And we want to create a home for them as well. And tools that make that more viable and more accessible could be an opportunity for
Speaker #8: us.
Speaker #11: Great,
[Analyst] (BMO Capital Markets): Great. Thanks.
Brian Pitz: Great. Thanks.
Speaker #3: Your next question comes from the Thanks line of Martin Yang with Oppenheimer. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Martin Yang with Oppenheimer. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Martin Yang with Oppenheimer. Please go ahead.
Speaker #11: Thank you for taking my question. I have a question on engagement and then follow-up on monetization. Personal engagement, can you maybe talk about how the GTA player base are engaging with the game?
[Analyst] (Oppenheimer): Hi. Thank you for taking my question. I have a question on engagement and then follow-up on monetization. First on engagement, can you maybe talk about how the GTA player base are engaging with the game? Is it primarily on GTA Online? Or do you see still the full game getting substantial playing hours for user or MAUs?
Martin Yang: Hi. Thank you for taking my question. I have a question on engagement and then follow-up on monetization. First on engagement, can you maybe talk about how the GTA player base are engaging with the game? Is it primarily on GTA Online? Or do you see still the full game getting substantial playing hours for user or MAUs?
Speaker #11: Primarily on GTA Online? Or do you still see the full game getting substantial playing hours for users or MAUs?
Strauss Zelnick: Look, we sold a whole bunch of units of GTA V in the quarter. Rockstar continues to bring new consumers into the tent. It's both. It's the full game. It's the online version, which is up meaningfully year over year, about 27%.
Strauss Zelnick: Look, we sold a whole bunch of units of GTA V in the quarter. Rockstar continues to bring new consumers into the tent. It's both. It's the full game. It's the online version, which is up meaningfully year over year, about 27%.
Speaker #8: units of GTA V in the Look, we sold a whole bunch of quarter. And Rockstar continues to bring new consumers into the tent. So it's both.
Speaker #8: It's the full game, and it's up meaningfully year-over-year versus the online version, which is up about 27%.
[Analyst] (Oppenheimer): Up.
Martin Yang: Up.
Speaker #3: Your next question comes from the
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Mark Desowski with Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Mark Desowski with Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: Line of Mark Up. Zasowski with Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Speaker #12: Hi, it's Omar Dusoki. So I think you mentioned that Zynga comprised a little bit less than half of your revenue. Of the entire business.
[Analyst] (Bank of America): Hi. It's Omar Dessouky. So I think you mentioned that Zynga comprised a little bit less than half of your revenue of the entire business. Over the last couple of years, it's been well known that solutions to avoid app store fees would become commercially available. There have been several that have been announced, such as, for example, Unity's cross-platform e-commerce solution that would help reduce the amount of fees that game developers have to pay to the app stores. How much of your distribution fees that you pay to the app stores do you think are addressable through such a third-party solution outside of the fact that you already have growth in your own DTC channel? Are the two mutually exclusive? And how much do you think you can save? And how much time will it be before you implement such a third-party solution?
Omar Dessouky: Hi. It's Omar Dessouky. So I think you mentioned that Zynga comprised a little bit less than half of your revenue of the entire business. Over the last couple of years, it's been well known that solutions to avoid app store fees would become commercially available. There have been several that have been announced, such as, for example, Unity's cross-platform e-commerce solution that would help reduce the amount of fees that game developers have to pay to the app stores. How much of your distribution fees that you pay to the app stores do you think are addressable through such a third-party solution outside of the fact that you already have growth in your own DTC channel? Are the two mutually exclusive? And how much do you think you can save? And how much time will it be before you implement such a third-party solution?
Speaker #12: Over the last couple of years, it's been well known that solutions to avoid app store fees would become commercially available. And there have been in several that have been example, announced, such as, for Unity's cross-platform e-commerce solution that would help reduce the amount of fees app stores.
Speaker #12: That game developers have to pay—much of your fees, that is, the distribution fees that you pay to the app stores—do you think are addressable through such a third-party solution?
Speaker #12: Outside of the fact that you already have growth in your own DTC channel, are the two mutually exclusive? And how much do you think you can save and how much time will it be before you implement such a third-party solution?
Speaker #8: So I'm not really going to comment on third-party solutions because the fact is a lot of our DTC efforts, we really do in-house. At this point, that's not to say that third-party solutions can't be helpful now or in the future.
Lainie Goldstein: So I'm not really going to comment on third-party solutions. The fact is, a lot of our DTC efforts, we really do in-house at this point. That's not to say that third-party solutions can't be helpful now or in the future. Primarily, this is an internally-driven thing for us. In terms of the opportunity, I think we've said before, right now, it's still pretty early. It's growing in terms of not all of our games. Even some of our really large games don't have DTC components to them. I think all of them at one point could. We'll see how that shakes out. We're pretty early in the process. We think there's a lot of growth ahead of us. It's something that we're certainly excited about. It improves our margins. As Strauss mentioned earlier, the legislative environment has been favorable towards that.
Lainie Goldstein: So I'm not really going to comment on third-party solutions. The fact is, a lot of our DTC efforts, we really do in-house at this point. That's not to say that third-party solutions can't be helpful now or in the future. Primarily, this is an internally-driven thing for us. In terms of the opportunity, I think we've said before, right now, it's still pretty early. It's growing in terms of not all of our games. Even some of our really large games don't have DTC components to them. I think all of them at one point could. We'll see how that shakes out. We're pretty early in the process. We think there's a lot of growth ahead of us. It's something that we're certainly excited about. It improves our margins. As Strauss mentioned earlier, the legislative environment has been favorable towards that.
Speaker #8: But primarily, this is an internally-driven thing for us. And in terms of the opportunity, I think we've said before, right now, it's still pretty early.
Speaker #8: It's growing in terms of not all of our games—even some of our really large games—don't have D2C components to them. I think all of them at one point could.
Speaker #8: We'll see how that shakes out. So we're pretty early in the process, and we think there's a lot of growth ahead of us. But it's something that we're certainly excited about.
Speaker #8: It improves our margins. And the Straus mentioned earlier, the legislative environment has been favorable towards that.
Speaker #12: Thank
[Analyst] (Bank of America): Thank you.
Omar Dessouky: Thank you.
Speaker #12: you.
Speaker #3: That concludes our question and answer
Operator: That concludes our question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to Strauss Zelnick for closing remarks.
Operator: That concludes our question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to Strauss Zelnick for closing remarks.
Speaker #3: I will now turn the call back over to Strauss Zelnick for closing remarks.
Speaker #8: Thank Obviously, we're thrilled with the company's you so much for joining us today. results. We're thrilled with our revised outlook for the rest of the year.
Strauss Zelnick: Thank you so much for joining us today. Obviously, we're thrilled with the company's results. We're thrilled with our revised outlook for the rest of the year. We're beyond thrilled with our expectations for next year, including WWE coming up this year and, of course, NBA 2K and then most notably, GTA 6. I want to just take a minute to thank our creative teams for showing up every day, bringing their passion to the table, not taking no for an answer, and always willing to push as far as they can to deliver the most extraordinary entertainment experiences. I want to thank our executive teams who subscribe to our strategy of creativity, efficiency, and innovation and will also show up every day doing their very best work in service of our collective goal to be the best entertainment company on Earth.
Strauss Zelnick: Thank you so much for joining us today. Obviously, we're thrilled with the company's results. We're thrilled with our revised outlook for the rest of the year. We're beyond thrilled with our expectations for next year, including WWE coming up this year and, of course, NBA 2K and then most notably, GTA 6. I want to just take a minute to thank our creative teams for showing up every day, bringing their passion to the table, not taking no for an answer, and always willing to push as far as they can to deliver the most extraordinary entertainment experiences. I want to thank our executive teams who subscribe to our strategy of creativity, efficiency, and innovation and will also show up every day doing their very best work in service of our collective goal to be the best entertainment company on Earth.
Speaker #8: And we're beyond thrilled with our expectations for next year. Including WE coming up this year. And of course, NBA 2K and then most notably, GTA 6.
Speaker #8: I want to just take a minute to thank our teams—our creative teams—for showing up every day and bringing their passion to the table.
Speaker #8: Not taking no for an answer. And always willing to push as far as they can. To deliver experiences. And I want to thank our executive teams, who subscribe to our strategy of creativity, efficiency, and innovation.
Speaker #8: And will also show up every day doing their very best work in service of our collective goal to be there. Shareholders, thank you for your support.
Speaker #8: Thank you to our exciting times. And we're happy that you're along for the
Strauss Zelnick: Thank you too to our shareholders for your support. These are really exciting times. We're happy that you're along for the ride.
Strauss Zelnick: Thank you too to our shareholders for your support. These are really exciting times. We're happy that you're along for the ride.
Speaker #8: ride. Ladies and gentlemen, this
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.
