The strange financial tale that is Roblox continues to be told in much the same way it has in prior reports, the third quarter results from 2022 show another rise in revenue but a continual net loss for the company.
Revenue for the quarter hit $518M – a 2% increase QoQ – and bookings rose by 10% to $702M, but the quarter also saw a net loss of $302M, which was attributed to “non-GAAP bookings” including acquisition of property and equipment (specified as “servers, infrastructure equipment, and tenant improvements”) and cash used in unspecified investing activities. Additionally, revenues ended up being $111M less owing to some new reporting that takes into account revised estimates for each paying user’s lifespan from 25 months to 28 months.
According to a post-earnings call, CEO David Baszucki expects that net losses will continue “for the foreseeable future” but also calls attention to growing engagement, which rose to levels that were only previously seen during COVID’s peak, especially in the US and Canada.
Other plans for Roblox noted in that call include continued hiring and the ability for players to create their own limited edition items next year. Speaking of limited items, Baszucki also talked up the potential of having designer brands like Gucci get in on Roblox’s continued push to a limited digital item marketplace. “We believe this is going to be really fun, really good for engagement, and will ultimately expand our economy so it does look more like the real world and we have very high-priced items as well,” he reasoned in the call.
