Electronic Arts’ move into mobile sets it up for big gains

Article Excerpt

Electronic Arts acquired mobile games leader Glu Mobile in April 2021 for $2.4 billion. Now, it’s buying another mobile-games maker to quickly gain an even bigger share of this fast-growing segment. That move adds to its already bright future, and we recommend this stock as a Power Buy. ELECTRONIC ARTS, $140.72, is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol EA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (www.ea.com; Shares o/s: 285.7 million; Market cap: $40.3 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) is paying $1.4 billion to acquire mobile gaming studio Playdemic. U.K.-based Playdemic is best known for its “Golf Clash” title, which has more than 80 million downloads globally. The acquisition is part of EA’s strategy to expand its mobile games unit across fast-growing genres including lifestyle, casual and sports. While EA has several popular mobile games in its portfolio, none are recent releases. Also, mobile has made up the smallest—and slowest growing—portion of its sales despite the category’s increasing importance. The addition of Glu Mobile—and now Playdemic—will…