Roblox Bookings Growth Stands Out; These 4 Analysts Deep Dive Into Q4 Print

Shares of Roblox Corp RBLX rose slightly in premarket trading on Thursday, after the San Mateo, California-based company reported strong fourth-quarter results.

The results came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways from the release.

• Roth Capital Partners analyst Eric Handler maintained a Buy rating, while lifting the price target from $50 to $55.
• Needham analyst Bernie McTernan reiterated a Buy rating, while raising the price target from $51 to $55.
• Oppenheimer analyst Martin Yang reaffirmed a Perform rating on the stock.
• Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan maintained a Neutral rating and price target of $48.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Roth Capital: Roblox reported its fourth-quarter bookings and adjusted EBITDA of $1.127 billion and $260 million, up 25% and 42%, respectively, topping the consensus estimates of $1.078 billion and $191 million, Handler said in a note.
“Roblox is benefiting from an aging audience and an expanding and maturing international user base, both of which are leveraging the platform's more compelling content and features along with broader device connectivity,” the analyst stated.

Needham: Roblox’s total payers reaccelerated to 18% year-over-year growth, while bookings per payer growth “has steadily improved each quarter over the past two years to +6%, its highest level post COVID,” McTernan wrote in a note.

“4Q23 saw a strong end to the year for monetization,” the analyst said. “RBLX is benefiting from its UGC content flywheel and leveraging technology investments to spin the flywheel even faster."

Oppenheimer: “DAU growth was up 22% Y/Y and average bookings per DAU were up 3% Y/Y,” Yang said. “Management highlighted key markets such as Japan and India with substantial growth in DAU,” he added.

Roblox’s operating leverage continued to improve in the fourth quarter, with 24% year-over-year growth in total personnel costs, significantly lower than 32% in the year-ago quarter, the analyst stated. He added that the company’s first quarter and 2024 guidance was higher than the consensus estimates, “implying 20% bookings growth Y/Y in both periods.”

Goldman Sachs: "Total Bookings in Q4 '23 and forward commentary for Q1'24 and FY'24 above GS/Street estimates as the company continues to demonstrate momentum on user growth, aging up their player base and increased monetization per user," Sheridan wrote.

Management's forward commentary struck a balance between "remaining focused on long-term investment cycle around platform personalization and product initiatives" and the previously announced annualized adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 100 to 300 basis points.

RBLX Price Action: Shares of Roblox had risen by 1.14% to $45.25 in the premarket session on Thursday.

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