Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced preliminary financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2018. "The video game industry continues to grow through a year of intense competition and transformational change," said CEO Andrew Wilson. "Q3 was a difficult quarter for Electronic Arts and we did not perform to our expectations. We are now applying the strengths of our company to sharpen our execution and focus on delivering great new games and long-term live services for our players. We're very excited about Apex Legends, the upcoming launch of Anthem, and a deep line-up of new experiences that we'll bring to our global communities next fiscal year."

"FIFA stands out as a robust franchise through a tumultuous year in the video game industry," said COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen. "Elsewhere in the business, we're making adjustments to improve execution and we're refocusing R&D. Looking forward, we're delighted to launch Anthem, our new IP, to grow Apex Legends and related Titanfall experiences, to deliver new Plants vs. Zombies and Need for Speed titles, and to add Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to our sports titles in the fall."Selected Operating Highlights and Metrics

• Digital net bookings for the trailing twelve months was $3.577 billion, up 6% year-over-year and represents 74% of total net bookings.
• During the quarter, launched Battlefield V and Command & Conquer : Rivals.
• On February 4, 2019, launched Apex Legends , a new battle royale experience from Respawn.
• During the quarter, FIFA Ultimate Team matches played increased 15% year-over-year.
• During calendar 2018, FIFA 19 was the highest-selling console game in Europe.

Net bookings is defined as the net amount of products and services sold digitally or sold-in physically in the period. Net bookings is calculated by adding total net revenue to the change in deferred net revenue for online-enabled games and, for periods after the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, mobile platform fees.

Selected Financial Highlights and Metrics

All financial measures are presented on a GAAP basis.

• Net cash from operating activities was $954 million for the quarter and $1.563 billion for the trailing twelve months, a record third quarter trailing twelve months.
• EA repurchased 3.2 million shares for $292 million during the quarter and 9.0 million shares for $1.039 billion during the trailing twelve months.

Impact of Recently Adopted Accounting Standard
At the beginning of fiscal year 2019, April 1, 2018, EA adopted FASB ASU 2014-09 (Topic 606), Revenue from Contracts with Customers. For more information about the adoption of Topic 606, please refer to the Investor Accounting FAQ on our IR website. Financial data for periods prior to April 1, 2018 has not been restated.

Business Outlook as of February 5, 2019
The following forward-looking statements reflect expectations as of February 5, 2019. Electronic Arts assumes no obligation to update these statements, except as required by law. Results may be materially different and are affected by many factors detailed in this release and in EA's annual and quarterly SEC filings.

Fiscal Year 2019 Expectations - Ending March 31, 2019

Financial metrics:

• Net revenue is expected to be approximately $4.875 billion.
• Change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) is expected to be approximately $65 million.
• Mobile platform fees are expected to be approximately $(190) million.
• Net income is expected to be approximately $980 million.
• Diluted earnings per share is expected to be approximately $3.20.
• Operating cash flow is expected to be approximately $1.350 billion.
• The Company estimates a share count of 306 million for purposes of calculating fiscal year 2019 diluted earnings per share.

Operational metric:

• Net bookings is expected to be approximately $4.750 billion.

Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2019 Expectations - Ending March 31, 2019

Financial metrics:

• Net revenue is expected to be approximately $1.163 billion.
• Change in deferred net revenue (online-enabled games) is expected to be approximately $56 million.
• Mobile platform fees are expected to be approximately $(49) million.
• Net income is expected to be approximately $170 million.
• Diluted earnings per share is expected to be approximately $0.56.
• The Company estimates a share count of 303 million for purposes of calculating fourth quarter fiscal year 2019 diluted earnings per share.