Take-Two shares rise 4.45% as GTA 6 preorders top expectations

Take-Two Interactive shares rose 4.45% to $216.62 in Tuesday premarket trading after quarterly net bookings fell 18% year over year to $1.60 billion, Benzinga reported Nov. 10.

Net bookings, a sales measure for games, add-on content and other products sold in the period, topped analysts’ $1.58 billion estimate but missed Take-Two’s $1.62 billion-to-$1.67 billion forecast.

Take-Two kept its fiscal 2027 net bookings forecast at $8 billion to $8.2 billion, below analysts’ $8.512 billion estimate. The company raised its GAAP revenue forecast to $7.98 billion to $8.18 billion and maintained adjusted earnings guidance of $5.75 to $6 a share, compared with analysts’ $7.04 estimate.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2027, Take-Two forecast adjusted earnings of $3.80 to $4 a share, compared with analysts’ $3.95 estimate. It projected adjusted net bookings of $3.35 billion to $3.5 billion, compared with the $3.382 billion estimate.

The near-term debate is whether Grand Theft Auto 6 can turn heavy demand into the kind of full-year growth investors are pricing into the stock. Take-Two Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said GTA 6 preorders had significantly exceeded initial expectations, according to Benzinga, while cautioning that the company was not ready to “declare victory” before launch.

Recurrent consumer spending, repeat spending after the initial game sale, fell 9% in the quarter. That was weaker than the company’s forecast for a 5% decline, with spending lower across NBA 2K and mobile games while the Grand Theft Auto franchise grew.

Take-Two expects recurrent consumer spending to rise about 12% year over year in the third quarter. Management-adjusted operating expenses are projected to increase about 21% year over year, mainly because of marketing costs tied to the GTA 6 launch.

The Grand Theft Auto base gives Take-Two unusual scale heading into the release. Grand Theft Auto 5 has sold nearly 235 million copies worldwide, while the franchise posted double-digit growth in recurrent consumer spending and average monthly GTA+ members.

The rest of the portfolio was more mixed. NBA 2K27 has sold more than 4 million copies and produced the franchise’s second-highest net bookings performance, but results fell short of expectations. Management expects NBA 2K bookings and engagement to improve in the second half of fiscal 2027 and forecasts high-single-digit growth in NBA 2K recurrent consumer spending for the full fiscal year.

Borderlands has surpassed 100 million copies sold, with Borderlands 4 helped by new content and promotions. Take-Two also released updates for Mafia, Civilization, PGA Tour 2K and WWE 2K.

Zelnick also addressed concerns about artificial intelligence-powered reverse engineering of games, saying it would be difficult to replicate the intended gaming experience, according to Benzinga. He said Take-Two is strengthening technical safeguards and legal efforts to protect its intellectual property.

Launch checkpoints

The watch list starts with Grand Theft Auto 6 on Nov. 19, 2026, when investors will be able to judge whether preorder strength converts into launch sales, engagement and recurrent spending. Take-Two has said it will assess the game’s performance before updating financial forecasts.

Two other releases remain on the fiscal-year slate. PGA Tour 2K27 and WWE 2K27 are scheduled for release later in fiscal 2027, giving Take-Two additional catalog support beyond GTA 6.

The company expects GTA 6 to drive significant fiscal 2027 growth, supported by Ultimate Edition sales, with the game still scheduled for release on Nov. 19, 2026.