For the third quarter ending 9/30/22 Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) saw revenue decline 14% from Q3 2021 to $1.8 billion. For the first nine months of 2022 revenue was down 22% over the first nine months of 2021. In a letter, ATVI CEO Bobby Kotick said the merger with Microsoft is expected to close by the end of Microsoft’s fiscal year on 6/30/23.
Analysis
The decline was expected as revenue was expected to be $1.7 billion with EPS of $0.42. The EPS came in at $0.55 a share. However, everyone is looking at the potential Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard at $95 a share.
DFC believes that the deal should be approved, however, significant legal challenges from the U.S. FTC, U.K. CMA and EU could be hurdles. Kotick’s estimate of a deal closing by June 2023 may be optimistic.
