Do You Have These Esport Stocks On Your April 2022 Watchlist?
Esport stocks have been gaining popularity in the stock market over the years. While it is still a relatively young but quickly evolving industry, some trends may suggest the potential of the industry over the next few years. As time goes by, there is growing company sponsorship in the Esport scene as companies aim to reach out to the community. Not to mention, the sheer number of Esports audiences could be a good indicator of where the industry is heading. Just look at Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Youtube Gaming to see how large the Esport community is today.
In fact, there is also an increasing number of states in the U.S. legalizing Esports betting. Recently, West Virginia lawmakers have passed House Bill 4826 which allows operators to accept wagers on Esports events. The legislation will likely take several months before coming into effect. Other states that have legalized Esports betting include New Jersey, Nevada, Washington, Colorado, Columbia, Connecticut, Oregon, Louisiana, Virginia, and Tennessee.
Furthermore, Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings (OTCMKTS: TCEHY) recently released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 earnings report. Its gaming-related revenue jumped to $32.94 billion, up 9.9% year-over-year. Most of these were contributed by mobile games and many of these games are considered Esports. As a result, it should not be surprising that investors are keeping a close eye on some of the top Esports stocks in the stock market today.
Esport Stocks To Watch Right Now
- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA)
- Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI)
- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
Electronic Arts
Firstly, let us look at the digital interactive entertainment company, Electronic Arts (EA). For a sense of scale, EA is the second-largest independent video game developer. It develops, markets, and delivers games and services that can be played on a variety of platforms. Some of its most notable games are The Sims, Apex Legends, FIFA, Madden NFL, and the list goes on.
For starters, EA and the National Football League (NFL) showcased last month the entertainment power of Esports with the EA SPORTS™ Ultimate Madden Bowl Final. It was the biggest Madden NFL Esports event in franchise history with record media distribution for the competition. Additionally, there was also the premiere of the first-ever Madden Esports halftime show which featured Multiplatinum musician Moneybagg Yo and Blocboy JB. This goes to show EA’s commitment to the Esport industry as it continues to gain traction.
Fundamentally, EA has also been ticking all the right boxes thus far in its fiscal year 2022. Its third quarter was the largest in its history for net bookings, underlying profitability, and cash generation. Its net bookings for the trailing twelve months were $7.25 billion, an increase of 22% year-over-year. Also, the EA player network has grown to more than 540 million unique active accounts over the last year. Safe to say, this would provide a strong foundation for growth as EA continues to look to the future. All things considered, do you think EA stock is a top Esport stock to watch?
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Activision Blizzard
Following that, we have one of the pioneers of Esports and the world’s largest independent video game developer, Activision Blizzard. This goliath in the gaming industry was formed in 2008 when Activision and Blizzard Entertainment merged, bringing together the best creative talent in the gaming space. Today, the company has a strong presence in the Esports scene such as Overwatch League™, the Call of Duty League™, and the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship, among others. ATVI stock has risen more than 15% since the start of the year.
Investors should note that its bullish sentiment is largely due to Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) announcement of its plans to acquire Activision earlier this year. Microsoft believes that the acquisition will boost its growth in the gaming business across mobile, personal computers, consoles, and the cloud. More importantly, it will likely be a building block for the metaverse. Overall, this could be a win-win situation for both companies should the acquisition be successful.
On the Esport front, Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty League recently announced that it has joined forces with Aim Lab as the official first-person training sponsor. This marks the first time that fans will have the opportunity to test their skills against top professional players. Besides that, fans could also learn the science behind what makes the league’s professional players the most skilled in the Esports world. Given all this, would you be watching ATVI stock?
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Amazon
Unlike the previous two entries that have direct involvement in Esports, Amazon plays a different yet significant role in the industry. Traditionally, Amazon is an e-commerce company that provides a range of products and services to its customers. Over the years, it has developed into a tech giant that has massive involvement in various other industries. One of which is Twitch, a streaming platform where millions of people come together live to chat, interact and make their own entertainment. With that being said, many Esport events are now being streamed live through Twitch and it acts as a platform that promotes the Esport industry.
In February, Twitch introduced a more predictable revenue source for its creators. It is taking ad scheduling to the next level with the Ads Incentive program. Hence, creators can stream for a specific number of hours while enabling ads in exchange for a flat payout. This means that creators will have a more predictable monthly income through ads, with no ceiling on earning potential. With this, creators could also focus on content creation without worrying about ads.
Earlier this month, Amazon officially launched Amazon Luna in the U.S. while adding a variety of new features. For the uninitiated, this is the company’s cloud-based game streaming service. The company will be leveraging its ownership of Twitch to add native support for one-click broadcasting. Therefore, users will just be a click away from being able to stream their game live on the Twitch platform. Overall, these developments are important for the long-term growth of the company as Esport streaming continues to gain popularity. With that in mind, would you consider adding AMZN stock to your watchlist?
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