01-06-2012 00:24
Cita:gamesindustry[/url]"]"The company does not believe that the incremental one-time charges related to the settlement will result in a material impact on its GAAP or non-GAAP earnings per share outlook for the current quarter or the calendar year, due to stronger-than-expected operating performance in the current quarter."Se acabó la fiesta antes de que empezara. Al parecer el acuerdo ronda los 100 millones de dólares, pero no se sabrá porque es confidencial y gracias a los buenos resultados de Activision este trimestre.
Interestingly, the second paragraph of that statement does reveal something about the settlement. The scope of the settlement would seem to be not much more than any additional revenue Activision was expecting in this quarter (or some amount less, but the wording implies that there has been some substantial amount of money being paid out). In a typical quarter Activision would generate revenues somewhere between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, with net income of around $400 million to $500 million. If Activision has a really good quarter, better than they announced to investors, it might mean an extra $100 million in income for the quarter. So the settlement is probably not much more than that.
Activision is required to state substantial changes in its earnings and expenditures, according to SEC rules, and to notify investors when Activision becomes aware of such events. That's why Activision has said this much, despite the desire to keep the matter strictly confidential. It's possible that the settlement was much lower, but then there would have been no reason for Activision to put in the phrase "due to stronger-than-expected operating performance in the current quarter."
It's also worth noting that the settlement amount is a fraction of the total amount sought, which was over $1 billion with all damages included.