Unity Software Stock Soars as 2022 Revenue Forecast Tops Estimates

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Unity Software

stock traded sharply higher Friday after the fourth-quarter adjusted loss at the videogame developer tools maker was narrower than Wall Street expected and the company issued a 2022 sales outlook that was higher than estimates.

The stock gained 16.8% to $108.07 on Friday. It has fallen 24.4% in 2022 and has declined 16% over the past one year.

Unity Software (ticker: U) posted an adjusted loss in the period of 5 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of 10 cents. Revenue in the fourth quarter rose 43% to $315.9 million from $220.3 million a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting a fourth-quarter adjusted loss of 7 cents a share on revenue of $295.5 million.

“We believe that the transition from linear 2D to interactive real-time 3D, presents a massive growth opportunity for the next decades. These are strong tailwinds that help us drive growth for years to come,” said John Riccitiello, Unity’s president and chief executive officer.

The company said it expects 2022 revenue of $1.49 billion to $1.51 billion, higher than estimates of about $1.42 billion, and up 34% to 36% from 2021. It expects first-quarter revenue of $315 million to $320 million.

Unity said that since becoming a public company in September 2020 it has averaged 43% revenue growth. Customers contributing $100,000 or more in revenue in the trailing 12 months increased 33% to 1,052 as of Dec. 31, 2021, the company said.

Wedbush analysts maintained their Outperform rating on Unity shares and a 12-month price target of $175.

“We expect Unity to deliver significant top-line growth for several years and improve its profitability as it further penetrates gaming and non-gaming industries,” the analysts said in a note Friday.

Back in November, Unity announced that it would be acquiring award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital studio for $1.625 billion in cash and stock.

Write to Joe Woelfel at [email protected]