5 Entertainment Stocks To Watch Ahead Of This Week's Earnings: Video Games And Casinos

Earnings season is in full swing and this week features many well-known companies reporting quarterly financial reports.

Every week, Benzinga takes a look at some specific sectors that have a large number of companies that report earnings. This week’s sector is entertainment stocks with three video game companies and two casinos all sharing details of their most recent quarters.

Activision Blizzard: Video Game company Activision Blizzard ATVI reports third-quarter earnings on Tuesday after market close. The company has been heavily in the spotlight in recent months with the departure and firing of several key executives, an SEC investigation and allegations of poor working conditions.

CEO Bobby Kotick unveiled new business practices recently to help with employee relations. The company also announced it was pausing its annual BlizzCon event. With the pausing of the event, there is a chance investors get updates on Blizzard games via quarterly earnings.

Activision Blizzard has beat revenue estimates from analysts in each of the last 10 quarters, according to Benzinga Pro data. Estimates call for the company to report $1.88 billion in third-quarter revenue, down from the $1.92 billion and $2.07 billion reported in the most recent second and first quarters, respectively.

ATVI shares trade at $79.87, towards the bottom end of their 52-week range of 71.19 to $104.53.

Electronic Arts: Video game company Electronic Arts Inc EA reports second-quarter earnings Wednesday after market close. The company beat revenue estimates in each of the last six quarters.

The current second-quarter revenue estimate from analysts is $1.75 billion, which would be EA's second-largest quarter since 2018. The company posted revenue of $1.34 billion in the first quarter and had revenue of $1.15 billion in last year’s second quarter.

Among the items for investors to watch in EA’s earnings report is an update on the FIFA franchise. The company could lose its deal as FIFA is seeking more money for the annual soccer franchise.

EA shares trade at $142.39, near the top end of the 52-week range of $110.15 to $150.30.

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Take-Two: Video game company Take-Two Interactive Software TTWO reports second-quarter financial results Wednesday after market close.

Estimates call for the company to report $865.5 million in revenue for the second quarter. The company has beat analysts’ estimates for six straight quarters. First quarter revenue of $711.4 million was the company’s lowest quarterly total since the first quarter of 2019.

The key item to watch could be how much it beats revenue by, assuming it does beat. After five straight quarters of beating revenue estimates by at least 9%, the company’s first quarter total was only 3% ahead of estimates.

Investors and video game fans will be hoping to hear any updates on the Grand Theft Auto franchise and potential hints of a timeline for the highly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto VI.”

TTWO shares trade at $183.91, near the mid-point of a 52-week range of $144.58 to $214.91.

MGM Resorts: Casino company MGM Resorts International MGM reports third quarter earnings on Wednesday after market close. The earnings could highlight how strong the reopening trade is fairing in terms of customers returning to casinos and in person events and conferences.

Estimates call for MGM to report third-quarter revenue of $2.48 billion. The company beat estimates in the first and second quarters after a string of revenue misses. The company’s revenue figures were $1.65 billion and $2.27 billion in the first and second quarter respectively, showing analysts expect the recovery to continue.

The company could also provide an update on its BetMGM sports betting joint venture.

MGM shares trade at $47.86, near the top of the 52-week range of $19.55 to $49.13.

Penn National: Casino company Penn National Gaming Inc PENN reports third-quarter earnings Thursday before the market open.

Estimates call for third-quarter revenue of $1.51 billion. The company beat estimates in the first and second quarter with revenue totals of $1.28 billion and $1.55 billion, respectively.

Penn National could give a good read on how regional casinos are fairing and how strong reopening trades are in certain parts of the country. The company could also provide an update on how the Barstool Sportsbook brand is doing with plans to continue expansion to more states.

PENN shares trade at $73.62, towards the bottom end of a large 52-week range of $52.09 to $142.00.