EA heavily slashes earnings targets as Dragon Age, FC25 underperform, shares drop by 16%

Electronic Arts share value drops by double-digits on the heels of new preliminary earnings that are substantially lower than EA had originally wanted.

EA heavily slashes earnings targets as Dragon Age, FC25 underperform, shares drop by 16%
Comment IconFacebook IconX IconReddit Icon
Senior Gaming Editor
Published
1 minute & 30 seconds read time
TL;DR: Dragon Age Veilguard and FC25 missed EA's forecasts so bad that the publisher has lowered its expected yearly earnings by hundreds of millions of dollars.

EA has slashed its holiday and full-year earnings targets because two of its major games have underperformed, and the company's stock has dropped by nearly 17% over the last two days of trading.

EA heavily slashes earnings targets as Dragon Age, FC25 underperform, shares drop by 16% 323

Yesterday EA announced disappointing news for investors: The company wasn't going to hit its intended earnings targets for Q3, or for the full fiscal year. The company doesn't just expect to miss the targets by a small margin--the miscalculation is in the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The culprits are Dragon Age The Veilguard, a singleplayer-only RPG that missed expectations by roughly 50%, and EA FC25, the heavily-monetized replacement for the FIFA franchise. As a result, EA now expects to make around $2.215 billion in net bookings for the Q3 period, a reduction of 7.7% or $185 million, from the original low-end target of $2.4 billion. The original targets can be found in EA's Q2 release.

On the high end EA expected to make $2.55 billion in net bookings during Q3, so the new revision is 13.1% lower than the top-end forecast.

Full-year earning forecasts are likewise substantially down. EA had originally expected to make $7.5 to $7.8 billion in net bookings throughout FY25, but the new Q3 revision calls for $7 billion to $7.15 billion.

That's a reduction of $500 - $800 million on the low end, and $500 - $650 million on the high end.

EA heavily slashes earnings targets as Dragon Age, FC25 underperform, shares drop by 16% 2

The market responded predictably and EA shares dropped by nearly 17% over the course of the last few days.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson had this to say in the announcement:

"During Q3, we continued to deliver high-quality games and experiences across our portfolio; however, Dragon Age and EA SPORTS FC 25 underperformed our net bookings expectations.

"This month, our teams delivered a comprehensive gameplay refresh in addition to our annual Team of the Year update in FC 25; positive player feedback and early results are encouraging. We remain confident in our long-term strategy and expect a return to growth in FY26, as we execute against our pipeline."

Photo of the Dragon Age: The Veilguard - PlayStation 5
Best Deals: Dragon Age: The Veilguard - PlayStation 5
Country flag Today 7 days ago 30 days ago
$39.88 USD $39.99 USD
Buy
$79 CAD $89.96 CAD
Buy
£43.34 £44.99
Buy
$39.88 USD $39.99 USD
Buy
* Prices last scanned on 2/13/2025 at 4:35 am CST - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission from any sales.
NEWS SOURCE:ir.ea.com

Senior Gaming Editor

Email IconX IconLinkedIn Icon

Derek joined the TweakTown team in 2015 and has since reviewed and played 1000s of hours of new games. Derek is absorbed with the intersection of technology and gaming, and is always looking forward to new advancements. With over six years in games journalism under his belt, Derek aims to further engage the gaming sector while taking a peek under the tech that powers it. He hopes to one day explore the stars in No Man's Sky with the magic of VR.

Related Topics

Newsletter Subscription