If nothing else, Electronic Arts
The numbers could have been much worse.
In the 2003 holiday season, EA's only competition for the top spot was Activision's
EA's revenue this year did include a foreign-currency benefit of $47 million. But EA followed up last year's best-selling Need For Speed Underground by selling a whopping 8.4 million copies of Need For Speed Underground 2. In addition, the company sold 4.5 million copies of its soccer game FIFA 2005 and had seven other titles sell more than 1 million units during the quarter.
EA's fourth-quarter outlook calling for sales of $700 million to $750 million and earnings of $0.25 to $0.30 per share -- or $0.28 to $0.33 per share, excluding certain items -- is a little light compared with the analyst estimate of $0.38 per share in earnings on $736 million in sales. But more importantly, the company has moved to protect its long-term competitive interests in recent months by inking exclusive deals with the NFL, signing Disney's
For related Foolishness, see:
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- EA Signals Weakness?
- Electronic Arts Tops Fast Company
- Where the Rubber Meets the (Virtual) Road
Fool contributor Jeff Hwang owns shares of Electronic Arts.