TTWO CEO Bets On ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ To Keep $8.2B Net Bookings Target On Track

Take-Two topped Wall Street’s revenue and earnings estimates in the fiscal first quarter.

  • The company reiterated its fiscal 2027 net bookings outlook of $8 billion to $8.2 billion.
  • During a call with analysts, Zelnick said GTA 6 had an “exceptional start to pre-orders,” which kicked of on June 25.
  • In Q1, net bookings fell 3% year over year to $1.39 billion.

Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) CEO Strauss Zelnick said on Friday that the company was counting on the blockbuster launch of ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ to drive its next phase of growth after the video game maker reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street estimates.

“Our excellent first quarter results reflect the power of our portfolio and disciplined execution across all of our labels,” Zelnick said. “With these positive trends and excitement around the November 19th launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, we are reiterating our Fiscal 2027 Net Bookings outlook of $8.0 to $8.2 billion.” 

During a call with analysts, Zelnick said GTA 6 had an “exceptional start to pre-orders,” which kicked off on June 25. However, he did not disclose specific sales numbers.

TTWO stock gained as much as 1% in pre-market trade and was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing. 

Take-Two Interactive Q1 Results

Take-Two reported first-quarter (Q1) revenue of $1.53 billion, ahead of analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. The company posted a loss of $0.18 per share, compared with Wall Street’s expectation for a loss of $0.21 per share, according to Koyfin.

However, total net bookings declined 3% year over year to $1.39 billion, compared with $1.42 billion during the same quarter last year.

The company’s largest contributors to net bookings during the quarter were NBA 2K, the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Toon Blast, Match Factory!, Empires & Puzzles, the Red Dead Redemption series, Words With Friends, Color Block Jam, WWE 2K, Zynga Poker, and Toy Blast.

How Is Retail Feeling About TTWO Stock?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around TTWO stock rose to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, while chatter stayed at ‘high’ levels. 

TTWO stock retail sentiment on August 7 as of 9:15 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

Investor attention remained on Grand Theft Auto VI, which is scheduled for release on November 19 after being delayed from its original fall 2025 launch. The game marks the first mainline Grand Theft Auto release since Grand Theft Auto V debuted in 2013.

“I can say that the level of pre-orders is unprecedented and astonishing, and we’re very grateful for that,” Zelnick said during the earnings call. “But they are so unprecedented that we just don’t know how it’ll translate into sales, which is a question I answered earlier. We genuinely don’t, and we just don’t believe in claiming victory before it occurs.”

Over the past decade, Grand Theft Auto V has sold more than 215 million copies worldwide, making it the second best-selling video game of all time behind Minecraft. 

One user said the game could create significant momentum for Take-Two shares in Q4, while another pointed to the company’s history of conservative guidance and potential for stronger results following major releases.

TTWO stock has fallen nearly 10% this year and gained around 2% in the last 12 months.

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