EA's digital revenues outpace brick-and-mortar sales

Electronic Arts has announced its preliminary financial results [PDF] from the fiscal quarter ending on June 30th, reporting "solid" performance propped up by a robust increase in digital net revenue. EA reported a total GAAP net revenue of $949 million U.S. for the quarter, over a guidance of $875 million. A further breakdown shows that the primary driving force for revenues was digital sales, bringing in $482 million versus a combined $467 million for published and distributed packaged goods. Digital growth was strong overall, with a reported 17 percent increase year-on-year (last year's GAAP net revenue for digital was $342 million, versus packaged's $613 million), as digital sales made up 76 percent of EA's quarterly revenue. This marks the first time that EA's digital has outstripped brick-and-mortar retail in terms of GAAP net revenue. GAAP net income for the quarter came in at $222 million U.S., up from $201 million in the same period last year. EA currently projects its net revenue for the year to come in at $3.5 billion -- a projection lower than the $3.8 billion from last year that EA reported in May, reflecting a certain tightening of belts, as transitioning chairman Larry Probst put it in May's earnings call. Chief drivers for digital revenue in the quarter included The Simpsons: Tapped Out, which EA reports has recorded its highest revenue quarter since launching in August of last year, and Real Racing 3 for iOS, which EA reports has seen more than 45 million downloads and an average of 2 million daily active users since its launch in March. Investors were generally pleased with today's financial news, with share prices rising in after-hours trading.