What happened
Shares of mobile game maker Glu Mobile (GLUU) are up 17.3% as of 11:15 a.m. EST after the company reported earnings yesterday evening. This is despite the fact that the $0.01-per-share loss than Glu reported (a $0.05-per-share pro forma profit, after backing out one-time expenses) fell short of the per-share $0.07 profit that Wall Street expected Glu to earn.
So what
Why the effervescent reaction to an earnings miss? For one thing, sales at Glu exceeded expectations. Wall Street had been looking for Glu to report revenue of just $96.5 million, but Glu took in revenue of $99.3 million instead, a 22% increase year over year. The company also improved gross margin by 30 basis points to 61.2%.
Yes! Glu Mobile just crushed its sales number. (Just don't ask about earnings.) Image source: Getty Images.
Glu also raised its 2018 full-year bookings guidance to a range of $380.7 million to $382.7 million, which investors may be interpreting as an indication that sales will continue to outperform in Q4.
Now what
As for the analysts who follow Glu, they're looking for the company to produce $0.07 per share in profit (presumably pro forma) in the year's final quarter, which is now underway. For sales, Wall Street will be satisfied with just $95.1 million in Q4 -- a number one imagines should be doable, given that Glu already exceeded that number in Q3, and is raising guidance on bookings.
Tune in again three months from now to see if Glu can stick the landing next time around.
