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What Does Wall Street See for Activision Blizzard's Q1?

By Seth Jayson – Updated Apr 10, 2017 at 1:27PM

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Checking expectations

Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) is expected to report Q1 earnings around May 8. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Activision Blizzard's revenues will increase 20.1% and EPS will increase 83.3%.

The average estimate for revenue is $704.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.11.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Activision Blizzard reported revenue of $1.77 billion. GAAP reported sales were 26% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.41 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.78. GAAP EPS of $0.31 for Q4 were 288% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.08 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 60.0%, much better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 27.4%, much better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 20.0%, much better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $4.26 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.86.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 6,902 members out of 7,130 rating the stock outperform, and 228 members rating it underperform. Among 1,497 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,464 give Activision Blizzard a green thumbs-up, and 33 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Activision Blizzard is buy, with an average price target of $15.08.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool recommends Activision Blizzard. The Motley Fool owns shares of Activision Blizzard. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Stocks Mentioned

Activision Blizzard, Inc. Stock Quote
Activision Blizzard, Inc.
ATVI
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