Roblox Shares Fall Sharply After Lowered Bookings Forecast and Safety Changes
Roblox Faces Market Turmoil Following Forecast Cut and Safety Initiatives
May 1 (Reuters) - Roblox shares plunged 24% in premarket trading on Friday after the company lowered its annual bookings forecast, raising concerns that new safety measures could weigh on user growth for several quarters.
Impact of Safety Measures on User Growth
The videogame platform warned of "continued short-term friction" from new product changes, including age-based accounts, age verification and expanded content monitoring, that have restricted communication and slowed new user acquisition.
Revised Bookings Forecast
The company now expects full-year bookings of $7.33 billion-$7.6 billion, down from the $8.28 billion-$8.55 billion it forecast earlier.
Net bookings are generated from in-game purchases of Roblox's virtual currency "Robux".
Analyst Reactions to Forecast Changes
"The magnitude of the guide cut suggests limited visibility, which makes it hard for us to gain confidence that the forecast is conservative," analysts at Jefferies said.
Market Valuation and Recent Stock Performance
Roblox is set to lose more than $9 billion from its market valuation of $39.55 billion if losses hold. The stock has fallen about 32% this year after seeing a 40% gain last year.
The platform is coming off a strong 2025, powered by forecast upgrades and viral hits that drove surging engagement, with daily active users topping 100 million.
Safety Concerns and Regulatory Scrutiny
The product changes come after multiple probes into Roblox over child safety and harmful content, including concerns around inappropriate interactions and exposure risks for younger users.
Competitive Pressures in the Gaming Industry
Analysts also flagged rising competition, saying the forecast cut likely also reflects pressure from Fortnite and the expected November release of Take-Two Interactive's "Grand Theft Auto VI" that could drive billions in revenue.
"Any success achieved ahead of TTWO's GTA VI may be erased after GTA VI release and therefore lead to further headwinds for bookings growth in '27," D.A. Davidson analyst Wyatt Swanson said.
Multiplayer "Fortnite" returned to Google's app store worldwide in March, ending a long-running dispute between Epic Games and the company.
Reporting Credit
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)