What happened
Shares of video-game maker Electronic Arts Inc. (EA -0.54%) plunged as much as 10% in trading Thursday after announcing a game delay and lowered guidance. At 3:30 p.m. EDT, shares were still down 9.9% on the day.
So what
Electronic Arts announced it is delaying the launch of Battlefield V, one of its most popular games, by four weeks, to November 20. Some of the company's bookings will subsequently be shifted from fiscal 2019 into 2020.
Image source: Getty Images.
Fiscal 2019 bookings are now expected to be $5.2 billion, as opposed to the $5.5 billion previously expected. Management didn't give specifics on how 2019 revenue or earnings would be affected, but it said there would be about a $235 million hit to revenue as a result of the delay.
Now what
Investors clearly aren't excited about Battlefield V's delay, but if it ensures the game is high quality, it's probably the right move. This is only a delay of the product, and long-term, it probably won't be a big detriment to earnings. With shares down double-digits today, I think this is a big overreaction by the market, and I don't think this fundamentally changes the investment thesis for Electronic Arts one bit.
