Roblox posted sound figures in its recently-released September 2022 metrics report, although not as sound as that from August.
Shares of popular online game platform Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) closed 19% higher on Monday following the company’s release of its September 2022 metrics report. Roblox posted strong numbers for last month, with daily active users increasing 23% year-over-year (YoY) to 57.8 million. In addition, the free-to-play game creation system also reported 4 billion hours engaged, up 16% YoY. For its September 2022 outing, Roblox also stated that estimated bookings were between $212 million and $219 million. This represents an increase of between 11% and 15% YoY. Furthermore, the gaming platform reported an estimated revenue of between $171 million and $180 million.
Despite these impressive figures, Roblox’s September outing falls short of August’s numbers. For instance, last month’s 57.8 million daily active users is a lower number than the 59.9 million recorded in August. In addition, the 4 billion hours engaged in September also declined from 4.7 billion in August. Furthermore, Roblox reported September bookings of no more than $219 million. This total is lower than the $233 million and $237 million estimated bookings from August.
As of yesterday, Roblox stock was trading 65% down from its highs in 2021 following the company’s direct listing in March. Last March, the company’s market cap climbed to $38 billion after its stock market debut.
Roblox Provides Insight into September 2022 Figures in Metrics Report
In its latest metrics report, Roblox also included annotations that seemingly explain why the company arrived at its current figures. Such includes the strengthening of the US Dollar against other foreign currencies, most notably the pound sterling. According to the online game platform:
“The strengthening of the US Dollar against the Euro, British Pound, and other foreign currencies during 2022 has had an adverse impact on bookings. We estimate that the impact of foreign currency fluctuations led to a reduction of approximately 6% in the year-over-year growth rate for September bookings.”
In addition, Roblox also stated:
“On a constant currency basis, we estimate bookings growth would have been 17% – 21% year-over-year and ABPDAU would have been down 2-5% year-over-year.”
It is also reported that Roblox’s September drop could be because kids who play the game are returning to school. During the pandemic, kids spent a lot more time on their screens. Consequently, the pandemic period saw Roblox experience a more than 200% surge in bookings. However, high-growth tech stocks have faltered since the onset of an economic slowdown this year.
More Opportunities to Increase Monetization
Roblox chief executive officer David Baszucki stated in a February media session that the company has several opportunities to increase monetization. Citing advertising and 3D immersive shopping as potential areas for growth, Baszucki stated that Roblox was focused on user and engagement growth. As he put it, they are “being very gentle on monetization relative to quality user growth, creating a safe and civil platform and driving our DAU numbers.”
Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.
