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☆ NBCUniversal insiders are asking what's next after CEO Jeff Shell's 'shocking' exit, and female execs are watching leadership closely after a string of high-profile sexual allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

They're asking what Comcast exec Mike Cavanagh's elevation to handle Shell's remit means for NBCU's future. NBCUniversal insiders are reeling after chief Jeff Shell's stunning departure and asking questions about what's next for the Comcast division. News of Shell's hasty exit dropped Sunday after an investigation into what he called an "inappropriate relationship" with a company employee. "It's shocking," said one employee, wondering how an executive at Shell's level would take such a risk with his career. Keeping Cavanagh atop NBCU could serve another purpose — to help bring about a merger of Comcast with Warner Bros.

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Film and TV adaptations of video games have a chequered history. But Nintendo’s “Super Mario”, along with HBO’s “The Last of Us”, is flipping the script. Jefferies analysts estimate that the “Super Mario” movie could add $350 million to Nintendo’s operating profit – equivalent to around 8% of its total for the year ending March 2022. The success of recent adaptations may lead media giants like Walt Disney (DIS.N), Comcast and Netflix to wonder what other goodies lie in video game companies. Follow @olivertaslic on TwitterCONTEXT NEWS“The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, an animated film co-financed by Nintendo and Universal Pictures, was released in North America on April 5.

☆ 'FIFA' publisher EA to cut 6% of workforce, reduce office space
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) said on Wednesday it would lay off about 6% of its workforce and reduce office space, making it the first major videogame publisher to announce job cuts. Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) announced a second round of job cuts this month. Video game sales so far this year were flat and spending on video game content across platforms is down 2%, according to analytics firm Circana. Newly launched "Hogwarts Legacy" game from Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) topped the videogame sales charts in February, according to Circana. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Electronic Arts Says It Is Laying Off 6% of Workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Electronic Arts Inc. said it is laying off about 6% of its workforce and reducing its office-space footprint to focus its spending on the best growth opportunities in the videogame industry. The maker of hit franchises such as “Madden NFL” and “The Sims” didn’t specify how many people would be let go or from which departments. In the middle of last year, it said it had nearly 13,000 employees. That would translate into around 780 job cuts. The company said it plans to redeploy some of the affected employees to other areas.

☆ Electronic Arts lays off 6% of workforce in cost-cutting push
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Videogame publisher Electronic Arts (EA.O) said on Wednesday it will lay off about 6% of its workforce and reduce office space, joining a host of U.S. companies that have trimmed costs to cope with a rough economy. EA, which had about 12,900 staff as of March-end last year, expects to incur between $170 million and $200 million in charges related to its restructuring plan. Corporate America, especially companies from the technology and finance sector, are reining in expenses as they brace for a looming recession amid rising interest rates around the world. The company behind the "FIFA" soccer videogame franchise and "The Sims" also said it will move away from projects that do not contribute to its strategy. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Electronic Arts is cutting about 800 jobs, or 6% of workforce, and reducing office space
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An Electronic Arts (EA) video game logo is seen at the Electronic Entertainment ExpoElectronic Arts is cutting 6% of its workforce, equal to about 800 jobs, and reducing office space, the video game company said Wednesday. Wilson said EA would provide severance and health care to affected employees, noting that layoffs had begun earlier in the quarter. EA had just under 13,000 employees, according to a quarterly filing in March 2022. Over 155,000 tech industry workers at more than 500 companies have lost their jobs in 2023, according to data from Layoffs.fyi. WATCH: Tech layoffs

Xbox Game Pass vs. PlayStation Plus: GamesHorizon: Forbidden West is the latest high-profile game to hit PlayStation Plus. Horizon Forbidden West / SonyThe main selling points of Game Pass and PlayStation Plus are their Netflix-style libraries of downloadable games. That said, there are a handful of Game Pass titles that are only available on console or PC, not both. Game Pass members get a 10% discount when buying games that are already on Game Pass, so you can always get a deal before a game leaves the service entirely. That 10% discount also applies to downloadable content and add-ons for Game Pass games, which aren't always included with the base version.

☆ Peloton hires former Twitter executive Dalana Brand to be chief people officer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Peloton said Wednesday it hired former Twitter executive Dalana Brand to be its new chief people officer, as the fitness company continues its transformation and attempts to return to profitability. Dalana's addition is the culmination of that strategy, rounding out and completing the leadership team," McCarthy said. She follows behind Leslie Berland, the former chief marketing officer of Twitter, who took the same job at Peloton in mid-January. "I'm thrilled to join the team at Peloton as the company continues striving to make fitness accessible for all." While at Twitter, she led the company's global workforce and helped speed up its processes to make the workplace more inclusive.

☆ EA founder Trip Hawkins dives into Web3 with Barcelona-based startup
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Eva Mathews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Former Apple executive Trip Hawkins, who founded the company behind the best-selling sports videogame franchise "FIFA", is joining a Web3 startup, looking to take on top blockchain games like Axie Infinity. The founder of Electronic Arts (EA.O) will join as co-founder and security chief of Games for a Living (GFAL), Hawkins told Reuters in an interview. Interest for Web3 gaming has risen over the past year as it is touted to attract more cryptocurrency users. Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming developer Animoca Brands, which backs popular NFT game Axie Infinity, raised more than $500 million in 2022. "Web3 is the bridge to the metaverse," Hawkins said on Thursday.

☆ Microsoft's president to push Activision deal at EU hearing; Google, Nvidia also present
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Smith will lead a delegation of 18 senior executives, including Microsoft Gaming Chief Executive Officer Phil Spencer, while Activision will be represented by its CEO Robert Kotick according to a European Commission document seen by Reuters. Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google and chip designer and computing firm Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), which has a gaming business, will also be taking part in the hearing, the EU document showed. "The European Commission asked for our views in the course of their inquiries into this issue. We will continue to cooperate in any processes, when requested, to ensure all views are considered," a Google spokesperson said. The European Games Developer Federation (EGDF), which has said the deal will allow Microsoft to challenge Apple (AAPL.O), Google and Tencent, is one of the participants.

☆ 'Insure against the worst': Goldman picks stocks for a soft — and hard — economic landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Despite this challenging environment, Goldman Sachs remains optimistic and expects a "soft-landing" for the U.S. economy. 'Soft-landing' stock picks To capture the upside in a soft-landing scenario, the Wall Street bank said that investors should own stocks that can benefit from a decelerating inflation environment. What follows are the first four stocks named by Goldman Sachs in its "soft-landing portfolio." Goldman Sachs analysts expect an earnings-per-share growth of 5% for Tesla and 7% for Garmin over the next 12 months, compared to a 1% growth for the S & P 500. Goldman Sachs has previously predicted that the S & P 500 will finish the year at the same level it started —4,000 — representing a return of 0% for 2023.

☆ Wall Street's most overbought stocks include General Motors and a pharma stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

There's a Wall Street momentum indicator that can help investors filter out the most overbought, and oversold, stocks. A stock is considered overbought if its 14-day RSI goes above 70. CNBC Pro screened for the 10 most overbought stocks in the S & P 500. Catalent was one of the most overbought stocks in the S & P 500. GWW YTD mountain GWW in 2023 General Motors made our list of overbought stocks as well, with a 14-day RSI of 76.25.

☆ Top 10 things the Club is watching in the stock market Thursday: PPI hot, stocks drop, Cisco pops
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The PPI data comes two days after a slightly hotter-than-expected consumer price index for last month. Cloud communications platform Twilio (TWLO) finally makes the pivot to emphasize profitability and the stock gets rewarded ... up 9% early Thursday. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

☆ Take-Two lowers annual adjusted sales forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O) lowered its annual bookings forecast on Monday, a sign that it is struggling to keep gamers glued amid a weakening economy and broader slowdown in the gaming market. Third quarter adjusted sales stood at $1.38 billion, compared to analysts' estimate of $1.46 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Take-Two said it now expects full-year adjusted sales between $5.2 billion and $5.25 billion, compared with $5.4 billion to $5.5 billion forecast previously. Analysts expected a figure of $5.39 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apple tries to be both desirable and predictable
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In 2018, the company’s enterprise value was equivalent to 3 times estimated revenue for the year ahead, according to Refinitiv. One way to make sense of that is to break Apple’s valuation into parts. Deduct that from Apple’s enterprise value, and investors are pricing the services business at $1 trillion, around 10 times forecast revenue. Whether it’s justified, though, depends on what services Apple is peddling, and how steady and subscription-like they are. If 20% of Apple’s services are cyclical, for example, and investors put the same multiple of sales as those peers, the company's fair share price drops 5%.

The Fed is widely seen as raising its target interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in its first policy meeting of the year, after rapid increases in 2022 to tame decades-high inflation. That's the Fed's issue as they finish up their two-day policy meeting today," Turnquist added. All of the 11 major sectors on the S&P 500 were down, with technology shares (.SPLRCT) falling the least. Seventy percent of the 200 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported fourth-quarter earnings have topped Wall Street expectations. Analysts now see earnings of S&P 500 firms declining 2.4% for the quarter, per Refinitiv estimates.

☆ EA Shows Why Mobile Games Are a Minefield
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When one of the biggest videogame makers in the business gets hung up in the mobile end of the market, it can say something for the whole industry. With annual revenue now over $7 billion, Electronic Arts is the largest stand-alone game publisher in the U.S. save for Activision Blizzard . EA also has a few games capable of generating more than $1 billion a year on their own, including “Apex Legends.” The battle-royale style shooter was EA’s answer to the blockbuster “Fortnite” and has been a resounding success since its surprise launch in 2019 for consoles and PCs. Analysts estimate the game’s total revenue has surpassed that of “Madden NFL” to become EA’s second-biggest property next to the blockbuster soccer franchise “FIFA,” according to Visible Alpha.

Investors will also parse Chair Jerome Powell's news conference for clues on the trajectory of future rate hikes. All of the 11 major sectors on the S&P 500 were down, with the technology shares (.SPLRCT) falling the least. Dow component Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) slipped 3.7% as the drugmaker said its fourth-quarter revenue fell slightly. With nearly 200 companies in the S&P 500 having reported fourth-quarter earnings, about 70% have topped Wall Street expectations. Analysts now see earnings of S&P 500 firms declining 2.4% for the quarter, per Refinitiv estimates.

Investors will also parse Chair Jerome Powell news conference for clues on the trajectory of future rate hikes. Meanwhile, the ADP National Employment report showed that private payrolls increased by 106,000 in January, lower than expectations of 178,000 additions. Snap Inc (SNAP.N) tumbled 12.5% after the social media company said it expects current-quarter revenue to decline by as much as 10%. ET, Dow e-minis were down 138 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 9.75 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 8.25 points, or 0.07%. Dow Jones Industrial Average component (.DJI) Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) dipped 0.6% as the drugmaker said its fourth-quarter revenue fell slightly.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Peloton, AMD, Altria, Snap and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Advanced Micro Devices — Shares of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices jumped 7.9% after the company reported earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations, according to Refinitiv. AMD also showed relative strength after competitor Intel's disappointing quarter, analysts said. Snap — Shares of the social media company plunged 14% after the firm reported quarterly revenue that missed Wall Street's expectations, according to Refinitiv. Stryker — Shares rallied about 7% after the company reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $3 per share, above FactSet's estimate of $2.84. The Chili's parent company reported 76 cents in adjusted earnings per share on $1.02 billion in revenue.

☆ Stocks making the biggest premarket moves: Peloton, Snap, AMD, Electronic Arts & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Check out the companies making the biggest moves in premarket trading:Peloton — The fitness equipment maker jumped more than 5% in the premarket after reporting fiscal second quarter revenue of $792.7 million, above a Refinitiv forecast of $710 million. Peloton said its net loss narrowed year over year and subscription revenue was higher than sales of the product. Advanced Micro Devices — Shares of chipmaker AMD rose more than 3% premarket after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations. Electronic Arts — Shares of the video game publisher fell nearly 10% after the Electronic Arts' fiscal third quarter results missed expectations for adjusted earnings and net bookings, according to StreetAccount. Match Group — The online dating company slid 8.3% after reporting quarterly revenue that missed Wall Street expectations.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Snap, Electronic Arts, Advanced Micro Devices and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Snap – Shares of social media company Snap sank 14% after the company reported quarterly revenue that was lower than Wall Street expected. Analysts expected $0.11 in adjusted earnings on $1.31 billion in revenue, per Refinitiv. Electronic Arts – Shares of entertainment company Electronic Arts shed 6.7% after the company reported $2.34 billion in revenue, less than the $2.51 billion analysts expected, per Refinitiv. Advanced Micro Devices – Shares of AMD rose 3% after the company reported earnings that beat Wall Street's sales and profit expectations. The chipmaker had adjusted earnings per share of $0.69 on $5.6 billion in revenue where analysts expected $0.67 per share adjusted and $5.5 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) lowered its annual bookings forecast on Tuesday, as the videogame publisher delayed the release of a title based on the "Star Wars" franchise and consumers dialed back spending in a sagging economy. EA on Tuesday pushed out the launch of "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor" by six weeks to April 28, which would fall into its next fiscal year. The game is a sequel to its 2019 "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" title that has drawn over 20 million players. It had forecast $7.65 billion to $7.85 billion previously. "Weak, but not a disaster," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said of the results, adding the "Star Wars" title delay led to a "huge shift of earnings" into next year.

☆ Electronic Arts lowers annual adjusted sales forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) lowered its annual bookings forecast on Tuesday, indicating that consumers were cautious about spending on its video games in a turbulent economy despite recent launches and a line-up that features popular titles such as "FIFA". The company now expects annual bookings between $7.07 billion and $7.17 billion, compared with $7.65 billion to $7.85 billion earlier. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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