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Roblox Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Financial Results image

Roblox Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Financial Results

Roblox Corporation released its fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial and operational results today as well as key metrics for the month of January 2023. Separately, Roblox posted a letter to shareholders and supplemental materials on the Roblox investor relations website at IR.ROBLOX.COM.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial and Operational Highlights

  • Revenue was $579.0 million, up 2% year-over-year, and up 3% year-over-year on a constant currency basis1
  • Net cash provided by operating activities was $119.2 million and free cash flow was $(38.0) million
  • Bookings were $899.4 million, up 17% year-over-year, and up 21% year-over-year on a constant currency basis1
  • Average Daily Active Users (DAUs) were 58.8 million, up 19% year-over-year
  • Hours engaged were 12.8 billion, up 18%year-over-year
  • Average bookings per DAU (ABPDAU) was $15.29, down 2% year-over-year, and up 2% year-over-year on a constant currency basis1

Full Year 2022 Financial and Operational Highlights

  • Revenue was $2.2 billion, up 16% year-over-year, and up 17% year-over-year on a constant currency basis1
  • Net cash provided by operating activities was $369.3 million and free cash flow was $(58.4) million
  • Bookings were $2.9 billion, up 5% year-over-year, and up 9% year-over-year on a constant currency basis1
  • Average DAUs were 56.0 million, up 23% year-over-year
  • Hours engaged were 49.3 billion, up 19%year-over-year
  • ABPDAU was $51.29, down 14% year-over-year, and down 11% year-over-year on a constant currency basis1

January 2023 Key Metrics

  • Estimated revenue was between $213 million and $216 million, up 22% – 24% year-over-year, and up 24% – 26% year-over-year on a constant currency basis1, 2
  • Estimated bookings were between $267 million and $271 million, up 19% – 21% year-over-year, and up 22% – 24% year-over-year on a constant currency basis1
  • Average DAUs were 65.0 million, up 19% year-over-year
  • Hours engaged were 5.0 billion, up 19% year-over-year
  • Estimated ABPDAU was between $4.11 and $4.17, up 0% – 2% year-over-year, and up 3% – 4% year-over-year on a constant currency basis1

“2022 was a year of innovation and invention for Roblox,” said David Baszucki, Founder and CEO of Roblox. “With 65 million daily active users in January, we are driving towards our vision to reimagine the way people come together by enabling deeper forms of expression, communication and immersion.”

“Bookings accelerated meaningfully in December and January, with year over year growth exceeding 20% in both months. Growth was strong across all geographies and age groups with particular strength among users above 17 years old,” said Michael Guthrie, Chief Financial Officer of Roblox. “As bookings re-accelerated late in 2022, we saw immediate improvements in adjusted EBITDA margins. For the full year, we were able to make important investments in infrastructure and trust and safety largely out of cash flow from operations.”

Discontinuation of Monthly Key Metrics Releases

Following the expected release of March 2023 monthly metrics in April 2023, the Company will cease publishing monthly metrics. By April 2023, we will have published monthly metrics over our first eight quarters as a public company. While we think that has provided incremental information to investors regarding the seasonality of the business, we have decided to cease providing monthly metrics to align our reporting cadence with our value of taking the long view. Key metrics will continue to be published on a quarterly basis aligned with the Company’s other quarterly disclosures, including its shareholder letter and other quarterly publications.

Earnings Q&A Session

Roblox will host a live Q&A session to answer questions regarding their fourth quarter and full year 2022 results on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time/8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The webcast will be open to the public at IR.ROBLOX.COM or by CLICKING HERE.

____________________

1

Constant currency is calculated by converting our current period revenue, bookings and ABPDAU into U.S. dollars using the comparative prior period’s monthly exchange rates for our non-USD currencies, rather than the actual average exchange rates in effect during the current period. Particularly during 2022, the strengthening of the U.S. Dollar against foreign currencies, most notably the Euro and British Pound, has had an adverse impact on revenue, bookings and ABPDAU. By adjusting revenue, bookings and ABPDAU for constant currency, we are able to provide a framework for assessing how our business performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations.

2

During the quarter ended March 31, 2022, the Company updated its paying user life estimate from 23 months to 25 months. As a result of this change in estimate, January 2022 estimated revenue (as reported on February 15, 2022) was adjusted down by approximately $32 million. The year over comparisons are based on the adjusted revenue number for January 2022 using the 25 month life.

 

ROBLOX CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except par values)

(unaudited)

As of

December 31,

December 31,

2022

2021

Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents

$

2,977,474

$

3,004,300

Accounts receivable—net of allowances

379,353

307,349

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

61,641

32,091

Deferred cost of revenue, current portion

420,136

406,025

Total current assets

3,838,604

3,749,765

Property and equipment—net

592,346

271,352

Operating lease right-of-use assets

526,030

221,285

Deferred cost of revenue, long term

225,132

137,524

Intangible assets, net

54,717

59,666

Goodwill

134,335

118,071

Other assets

4,323

2,933

Total assets

$

5,375,487

$

4,560,596

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable

$

71,182

$

64,395

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

236,006

180,769

Developer exchange liability

231,704

163,906

Deferred revenue—current portion

1,941,943

1,758,022

Total current liabilities

2,480,835

2,167,092

Deferred revenue—net of current portion

1,095,291

616,834

Operating lease liabilities

494,590

194,616

Long-term debt, net

988,984

987,723

Other long-term liabilities

10,752

1,408

Total liabilities

5,070,452

3,967,673

Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 authorized as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, 604,674 and 585,878 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively; Class A common stock—4,935,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, 553,337 and 534,541 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively; Class B common stock—65,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, 51,337 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021

59

58

Additional paid-in capital

2,213,603

1,568,638

Accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss)

671

62

Accumulated deficit

(1,908,307

)

(983,941

)

Total Roblox Corporation stockholders’ equity

306,026

584,817

Noncontrolling interests

(991

)

8,106

Total stockholders’ equity

305,035

592,923

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$

5,375,487

$

4,560,596

ROBLOX CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Twelve Months Ended
December 31,

2022

2021

2022

2021

Revenue(1)

$

579,004

$

568,769

$

2,225,052

$

1,919,181

Cost and expenses:
Cost of revenue(1)(2)

142,432

151,988

547,658

496,870

Developer exchange fees

182,115

159,717

623,855

538,321

Infrastructure and trust & safety

198,505

135,989

689,081

456,498

Research and development

248,407

173,570

873,477

533,207

General and administrative

79,704

59,383

297,317

303,020

Sales and marketing

29,740

27,772

117,448

86,363

Total cost and expenses

880,903

708,419

3,148,836

2,414,279

Loss from operations

(301,899

)

(139,650

)

(923,784

)

(495,098

)

Interest income

21,636

33

38,842

92

Interest expense

(10,008

)

(6,998

)

(39,903

)

(6,998

)

Other income/(expense), net

1,988

14

(5,744

)

(1,796

)

Loss before income taxes

(288,283

)

(146,601

)

(930,589

)

(503,800

)

Provision for/(benefit from) income taxes

3,202

656

3,552

(320

)

Consolidated net loss

(291,485

)

(147,257

)

(934,141

)

(503,480

)

Net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interest

(1,559

)

(3,959

)

(9,775

)

(11,829

)

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

$

(289,926

)

$

(143,298

)

$

(924,366

)

$

(491,651

)

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted

$

(0.48

)

$

(0.25

)

$

(1.55

)

$

(0.97

)

Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share attributable to common stockholders – basic and diluted

601,859

581,535

595,559

505,858

(1)

In Q1 of 2022 our estimated user life changed from 23 months to 25 months. Subsequently, in Q3 of 2022 our estimated user life changed to 28 months. Based on the carrying amount of deferred revenue and deferred cost of revenue as of December 31, 2021, these changes resulted in a $344.9 million decrease in revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 and a $79.3 million decrease in cost of revenue during the same period.

(2)

Depreciation of servers and infrastructure equipment included in infrastructure and trust & safety.

ROBLOX CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)

(unaudited)

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Twelve Months Ended
December 31,

2022

2021

2022

2021

Cash flows from operating activities:
Consolidated net loss

$

(291,485

)

$

(147,257

)

$

(934,141

)

$

(503,480

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss including noncontrolling interests to net cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash provided by operations:
Depreciation and amortization

42,538

22,183

130,083

75,622

Stock-based compensation expense

169,456

120,220

589,498

341,942

Operating lease non-cash expense

19,985

11,858

69,100

43,794

Other non-cash charges/(credits)

395

(457

)

361

680

Amortization of debt issuance costs

321

216

1,261

216

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:
Accounts receivable

(192,427

)

(138,130

)

(72,479

)

(61,044

)

Accounts payable

18,633

23,599

10,302

23,369

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

8,835

5,908

(33,769

)

(13,593

)

Other assets

(1,719

)

2,821

(1,221

)

(1,367

)

Developer exchange liability

63,337

46,150

67,798

82,994

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

12,578

20,711

19,560

58,809

Other long-term liability

10,738

(167

)

10,159

(1,189

)

Operating lease liabilities

(14,886

)

(10,688

)

(47,875

)

(34,743

)

Deferred revenue

325,450

203,552

662,378

819,927

Deferred cost of revenue

(52,530

)

(38,296

)

(101,719

)

(172,828

)

Net cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash provided by operating activities

119,219

122,223

369,296

659,109

Cash flows from investing activities:
Acquisition of property and equipment

(157,205

)

(44,942

)

(426,163

)

(93,273

)

Payments related to business combination, net of cash acquired

(7,223

)

(13,388

)

(45,692

)

Purchases of intangible assets

(1,500

)

(7,856

)

Net cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash used in investing activities

(164,428

)

(44,942

)

(441,051

)

(146,821

)

Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of common stock

3,046

13,899

45,752

76,177

Payment of term license related obligations

(1,236

)

(1,656

)

Payment of withholding taxes related to net share settlement of restricted stock units

(150

)

Net proceeds from issuance of preferred stock

534,286

Proceeds from 2030 Notes

990,000

990,000

Payment of debt issuance cost

(2,339

)

(154

)

(2,339

)

Payments related to business combination, after acquisition date

(150

)

Net cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash provided by financing activities

1,810

1,001,560

43,642

1,598,124

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

(634

)

(100

)

1,287

(55

)

Net increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

(44,033

)

1,078,741

(26,826

)

2,110,357

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
Beginning of period

3,021,507

1,925,559

3,004,300

893,943

End of period

$

2,977,474

$

3,004,300

$

2,977,474

$

3,004,300

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release and the accompanying tables contain the non-GAAP financial measures bookings, free cash flow, and Adjusted EBITDA.

We use this non-GAAP financial information to evaluate our ongoing operations, for internal planning and forecasting purposes, and ongoing operating trends for purposes of analyzing the covenants specified in the indenture governing our senior notes due 2030. We believe that this non-GAAP financial information may be helpful to investors because it provides consistency and comparability with past financial performance.

Bookings is defined as revenue plus the change in deferred revenue during the period and other non-cash adjustments. Substantially all of our bookings are generated from sales of virtual currency, which can be converted to virtual items on the Roblox Platform. Sales of virtual currency reflected as bookings include one-time purchases or monthly subscriptions purchased via payment processors or through prepaid cards. Bookings also include an insignificant amount from advertising and licensing arrangements. We believe bookings provide a timelier indication of trends in our operating results that are not necessarily reflected in our revenue as a result of the fact that we recognize the majority of revenue over the estimated average lifetime of a paying user. The change in deferred revenue constitutes the vast majority of the reconciling difference from revenue to bookings. By removing these non-cash adjustments, we are able to measure and monitor our business performance based on the timing of actual transactions with our users and the cash that is generated from these transactions. Free cash flow represents the net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property, equipment, and intangible assets acquired through asset acquisitions. We believe that free cash flow is a useful indicator of our unit economics and liquidity that provides information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated from our core operations that, after the purchases of property, equipment, and intangible assets acquired through asset acquisitions, can be used for strategic initiatives, including investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions, and strengthening our balance sheet. Adjusted EBITDA is a measure of operating performance used in certain covenant calculations specified in the indenture governing our senior notes due 2030 that is not calculated in accordance with GAAP and may not conform to the calculation of EBITDA in other circumstances. We believe that, when considered together with reported amounts, Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors and management in understanding our ongoing operations and ongoing operating trends for purposes of analyzing the covenants specified in the indenture governing our senior notes due 2030.

Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations in their usefulness to investors because they have no standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial information as a tool for comparison. As a result, our non-GAAP financial information is presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP.

A reconciliation table of the most comparable GAAP financial measure to each non-GAAP financial measure used in this press release is included at the end of this release. We encourage investors and others to review our business, results of operations, and financial information in their entirety, not to rely on any single financial measure, and to view these non-GAAP measures in conjunction with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

The following table presents a reconciliation of revenue, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, to bookings, for each of the periods presented:

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Twelve Months Ended
December 31,

2022

2021

2022

2021

(dollars in thousands)

(dollars in thousands)

Reconciliation of revenue to bookings:
Revenue

$

579,004

$

568,769

$

2,225,052

$

1,919,181

Add (deduct):
Change in deferred revenue

325,450

203,552

662,378

819,927

Other

(5,020

)

(2,205

)

(15,172

)

(13,402

)

Bookings

$

899,434

$

770,116

$

2,872,258

$

2,725,706

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Twelve Months Ended
December 31,

2022

2021

2022

2021

(dollars in thousands)

(dollars in thousands)

Reconciliation of net cash from operating activities to free cash flow:
Net cash provided by operating activities

$

119,219

$

122,223

$

369,296

$

659,109

Add (deduct):
Acquisition of property and equipment

(157,205

)

(44,942

)

(426,163

)

(93,273

)

Purchases of intangible assets

(1,500

)

(7,856

)

Free cash flow

$

(37,986

)

$

77,281

$

(58,367

)

$

557,980

 

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Twelve Months Ended
December 31,

2022

2021

2022

2021

Reconciliation of consolidated net loss to Adjusted EBITDA:

(dollars in thousands)

(dollars in thousands)

Consolidated net loss

$

(291,485

)

$

(147,257

)

$

(934,141

)

$

(503,480

)

Add (deduct):
Interest income

(21,636

)

(33

)

(38,842

)

(92

)

Interest expense

10,008

6,998

39,903

6,998

Other (income)/expense, net

(1,988

)

(14

)

5,744

1,796

Provision for/(benefit from) income taxes

3,202

656

3,552

(320

)

Depreciation and amortization

42,538

22,183

130,083

75,622

Stock-based compensation expense

169,456

120,220

589,498

341,942

Change in deferred revenue

325,450

203,552

662,378

819,927

Change in deferred cost of revenue

(52,530

)

(38,296

)

(101,719

)

(172,828

)

Fees related to equity offering

50,586

Fees related to certain legal settlements

53,775

Adjusted EBITDA

$

183,015

$

168,009

$

356,456

$

673,926

About Roblox

Roblox’s mission is to connect a billion people with optimism and civility. Every day, tens of millions of people around the world have fun with friends as they explore millions of immersive digital experiences. All of these experiences are built by the Roblox community, made up of millions of creators. We believe in building a safe, civil, and diverse community—one that inspires and fosters creativity and positive relationships between people around the world.

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