Metaverse Company Roblox Reports Q4 Results and Misses Expectations

Online game platform and game creation system Roblox reported its fourth quarter financial results this week, missing expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Shares plummeted over 26% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

The company reported revenue (bookings) of $770 million compared to $772 million that was expected, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates. Loss per share at 25 cents was also higher than the 13 cents anticipated, per Refinitiv.

The company however reported 49.5 million daily active users up 33% year-over-year.

For the year 2021, on average, Roblox said that daily active users were 45.5 million, up 40% from 32.6 million a year earlier. In the year ended December 31, 2021, hours engaged were 41.4 billion, up 35% compared with 30.6 billion hours engaged a year earlier.

“The foundation we put in place that allows us to invest in our business while continuing to generate strong cash flow is one of the most unique aspects of our business,” said Michael Guthrie, chief financial officer of Roblox, in a statement. “Our 2021 results demonstrate that the investments we were able to make in our technology and developer community are generating strong returns, and we will continue leaning into the business as we focus on the large, long-term growth opportunity ahead of us.”

Roblox makes an open gaming platform, which lets players create their own “worlds” where they can interact and play with others over the internet and was the first major company working on the metaverse to go public.

Roblox sells virtual currency to players, which is used to purchase digital items in the game. The company has signed deals with several big brands in recent months, such as the NFL and Nike.

“With nearly 55 million daily active users, Roblox is increasingly an integral part of people’s lives,” said David Baszucki, CEO of Roblox, in a statement. “As we look ahead to 2022, we will continue to develop our technology to enable deeper forms of communication, immersion and expression on our platform.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.