Activision Blizzard (ATVI)

Activision Blizzard Announces Q3 2009 Results

72% in dollars year over year, which demonstrates the sustained interest in this new and important game category.  During the quarter, we continued to see strong sales for Call of Duty World at War™ and associated map packs, which year to date have sold more than seven and half million units. Despite a challenging overall software market, the company grew its quarterly U.S. share by 3.1 points over the previous year to 13.3%.  This success is the result of our focus on delivering the highest game quality and the best entertainment experiences possible for our consumers.”

Kotick continued, “We believe we have the industry’s strongest holiday release schedule which includes Bakugan Battle Brawlers™, Band Hero, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® 2, DJ Hero and Tony Hawk®: RIDE™.   We are committed to making great games and our fall releases deliver against this more than ever before.  As of today, our calendar 2009 financial outlook remains unchanged, and we still expect to deliver record non-GAAP operating margins based on the strength of the Call of Duty franchise and high consumer anticipation for Modern Warfare 2, which we project could be the largest entertainment launch of the year.  Even though there is a great deal of economic uncertainty in the marketplace and the consumer risks around the holiday season are high, we believe that our strong balance sheet and solid cash position, coupled with our leading franchises, operational capabilities and broad global reach will enable us to take advantage of the long-term opportunities afforded by our industry.”