Shareholders Rejoice: Zynga Finally Delivers a Winning Quarter

Game-maker Zynga reported earnings after the bell on Thursday that beat analyst estimates for its third quarter. Zynga posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.00, which was better than analyst expectations for a loss of $0.04 in the period. Revenue of $203 million, which was down 36% year over year, also came in ahead of Wall Street's predictions for revenue of $142.6 million.

Bookings totaled $152 million in the quarter, which was a 40% decline from the year-ago period. Additionally, mobile bookings of $46 million in the quarter were down almost 10% from the year prior. This is a key metric for Zynga, because bookings represent the total sale of virtual goods sold in the period. For its current fourth quarter, management now expects bookings of $130 million to $140 million.

In addition to its earnings release, Zynga also said it hired Clive Downie as its new chief operating officer. This is Don Mattrick's first big hire since taking over as the company's CEO in July, as well as Zynga's first earnings announcement with new leadership at the helm. Shares of Zynga are up more than 50% year to date, and traded around $3.50 apiece at the close on Thursday. Nevertheless, that's still a far cry from Zynga's 2011 initial offering price of $10 a share.

The article Shareholders Rejoice: Zynga Finally Delivers a Winning Quarter originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tamara Rutter owns shares of Zynga Inc. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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