Playtika stock plunges to historic low after weak outlook
Investors react sharply as the gaming company posts a surprise loss and forecasts further profitability decline in 2025.
Playtika concludes another lukewarm quarter and presents a weak outlook for the coming year, prompting a sharp drop in its stock on the Nasdaq, cutting its market value to a historic low of $2 billion.
Playtika's annual revenue remained unchanged at $2.5 billion, but its profit plummeted from $235 million in the previous year to just $162 million.
In the fourth quarter, the company reported revenue of $650 million, slightly higher than the previous quarter and in line with analysts' expectations. However, it posted a surprising net loss of $16.7 million, missing bottom-line forecasts after a long streak of profitability.
The loss was driven by a $32 million goodwill write-off and a sharp increase in marketing, sales, administrative, and general expenses. Playtika has long struggled with declining revenue from its most popular games, a trend that began after the pandemic and is exacerbated by the aging demographic of its core audience for games such as Solitaire and Bingo.
The decline in revenue from Playtika's flagship titles was evident in the fourth quarter: revenue from casino games fell 10% year-over-year, with Slotomania down 13.5%, Solitaire Grand Harvest down 4.3%, and Bingo Blitz showing a slight recovery with a 5.8% increase. Meanwhile, revenue from casual games rose by 11%.
Investors were also disappointed by Playtika’s 2025 forecast, which projects revenue of $2.8–2.85 billion following its $2 billion acquisition of Israeli gaming company SuperPlay at the end of 2024.
Profitability is expected to decline further, with EBITDA projected at $715–740 million, down from $757 million in 2024. The drop is attributed to Playtika's investment in developing new games to attract a younger audience after shutting down several older titles.
In addition to the SuperPlay acquisition, Playtika is actively seeking further M&A opportunities. According to CFO Craig Abrahams, 2025 will be a transition year marked by significant investment in new games, with profitability expected to improve in 2026.
