Activision Blizzard had made its investors happy with its latest financial results. The Santa Monica, California-based video-game publisher has exceeded expectations when it comes to its quarterly earnings and revenue.
CNBC reported that Activision Blizzard enjoyed 92 cents per share in adjusted earnings during the fourth quarter of 2016. The figure is 19 cents higher than expected, so this could only mean that the company did a great job in sales during the most recent quarter.
"Overwatch," one of the most-talked about multiplayer shooter game, helped the company exceeded financial results estimates. Yahoo Finance reported that the popularity of "Overwatch" definitely helped boost the company's results.
In 2016, the number of "Overwatch" players around the world hit 25 million. The figures increased sales by 42% year over year, according to Activision Blizzard CEO Eric Hirshberg.
Since "Overwatch" has been received well around the globe, Activision Blizzard's revenues reached $2.45 billion during the fourth quarter of 2016, which also surpassed expectations. For full year 2016, the company's revenues hit $6.61 billion.
King Digital, which created and popularized the game "Candy Crush," also helped Activision Blizzard soar above expectations. The video game publisher acquired King Digital in 2016, which means that it has expanded into mobile gaming with the help of the "Candy Crush" creator.
The video game publisher behind "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft" saw the price of its stock climb in the exchange market following the announcement of its successful fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 results. The company's stock rose 17.81% at $46.17 per share after the market closed.
In addition, Activision Blizzard announced that it plans to buy back $1 billion of its outstanding common shares under a repurchase program. Jobs & Hire previously reported that that the video game publisher is considering rolling out new content for "Call of Duty."
