The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, we undertake no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
Special Note Regarding Operating Metrics
Additional information regarding our core financial and operating metrics disclosed above is included in the reports we have filed or will file with the SEC, including our annual reports on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We encourage investors and others to review these reports in their entirety.
ROBLOX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except par values)
(unaudited)
As of
September 30, 2024
December 31, 2023
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
602,631
$
678,466
Short-term investments
1,720,323
1,514,808
Accounts receivable—net of allowances
385,591
505,769
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
70,702
74,549
Deferred cost of revenue, current portion
588,915
501,821
Total current assets
3,368,162
3,275,413
Long-term investments
1,558,846
1,043,399
Property and equipment—net
642,637
695,360
Operating lease right-of-use assets
626,486
665,107
Deferred cost of revenue, long-term
295,894
283,326
Intangible assets, net
38,486
53,060
Goodwill
142,236
142,129
Other assets
15,215
10,284
Total assets
$
6,687,962
$
6,168,078
Liabilities and Stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$
42,842
$
60,087
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
273,694
271,121
Developer exchange liability
330,271
314,866
Deferred revenue—current portion
2,792,396
2,406,292
Total current liabilities
3,439,203
3,052,366
Deferred revenue—net of current portion
1,397,803
1,373,250
Operating lease liabilities
620,257
646,506
Long-term debt, net
1,006,023
1,005,000
Other long-term liabilities
46,218
22,330
Total liabilities
6,509,504
6,099,452
Stockholders’ equity
Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 authorized as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, 656,132 and 631,221 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively; Class A common stock—4,935,000 shares authorized as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, 607,454 and 581,135 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively; Class B common stock—65,000 shares authorized as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, 48,678 and 50,086 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively
62
61
Additional paid-in capital
3,949,491
3,134,946
Accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss)
16,416
1,536
Accumulated deficit
(3,776,064)
(3,060,253)
Total Roblox Corporation Stockholders’ equity
189,905
76,290
Noncontrolling interest
(11,447)
(7,664)
Total Stockholders’ equity
178,458
68,626
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ equity
$
6,687,962
$
6,168,078
ROBLOX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Revenue(1)
$
918,953
$
713,225
$
2,613,796
$
2,049,335
Cost and expenses:
Cost of revenue(1)(2)
204,998
163,581
582,421
477,451
Developer exchange fees
231,536
170,719
642,211
519,002
Infrastructure and trust & safety
244,598
218,968
692,596
655,051
Research and development
365,424
321,613
1,089,173
912,469
General and administrative
98,733
97,508
302,184
291,279
Sales and marketing
52,592
40,874
124,416
97,957
Total cost and expenses
1,197,881
1,013,263
3,433,001
2,953,209
Loss from operations
(278,928)
(300,038)
(819,205)
(903,874)
Interest income
46,718
36,442
133,271
102,288
Interest expense
(10,286)
(10,268)
(30,853)
(30,409)
Other income/(expense), net
2,352
(4,262)
(1,309)
(1,425)
Loss before income taxes
(240,144)
(278,126)
(718,096)
(833,420)
Provision for/(benefit from) income taxes
303
682
1,466
177
Consolidated net loss
(240,447)
(278,808)
(719,562)
(833,597)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest
(1,123)
(1,650)
(3,751)
(5,349)
Net loss attributable to common stockholders
$
(239,324)
$
(277,158)
$
(715,811)
$
(828,248)
Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted
$
(0.37)
$
(0.45)
$
(1.11)
$
(1.35)
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share attributable to common stockholders—basic and diluted
650,961
619,350
642,977
612,938
(1)Beginning April 1, 2024, the estimated average lifetime of a payer changed from 28 months to 27 months. Based on the carrying amount of deferred revenue and deferred cost of revenue as of March 31, 2024, the change resulted in an increase in revenue and cost of revenue during the three months ended September 30, 2024 of $26.4 million and $5.4 million, respectively, and $85.3 million and $17.8 million, respectively, during the nine months ended September 30, 2024. This change will increase our fiscal year 2024 revenue and cost of revenue by $98.0 million and $20.4 million, respectively. Refer to “Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — Revenue Recognition” as described in the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for further background on the Company’s process to estimate the average lifetime of a payer.
(2)Depreciation of servers and infrastructure equipment included in infrastructure and trust & safety.
ROBLOX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended September 30,
Nine Months Ended September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Consolidated net loss
$
(240,447)
$
(278,808)
$
(719,562)
$
(833,597)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss including noncontrolling interest to net cash and cash equivalents provided by operations:
Depreciation and amortization expense
68,613
53,600
175,126
153,611
Stock-based compensation expense
265,165
220,022
757,558
617,288
Operating lease non-cash expense
31,104
26,048
88,592
70,801
(Accretion)/amortization on marketable securities, net
(20,909)
(20,474)
(60,442)
(52,219)
Amortization of debt issuance costs
344
331
1,023
982
Impairment expense, (gain)/loss on investment and other asset sales, and other, net
1,907
1,578
2,350
7,747
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:
Accounts receivable
(40,585)
(29,454)
119,460
93,174
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
16,295
4,298
3,340
(1,861)
Deferred cost of revenue
(46,876)
(23,477)
(99,491)
(62,074)
Other assets
1,744
502
(4,922)
(6,189)
Accounts payable
4,424
2,279
(4,404)
3,855
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
8,238
19,745
(15,278)
(2,599)
Developer exchange liability
(18)
18,880
15,405
7,724
Deferred revenue
212,159
130,943
409,809
360,098
Operating lease liabilities
(25,292)
(15,994)
(54,621)
(46,837)
Other long-term liabilities
11,564
2,685
23,882
4,971
Net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities
247,430
112,704
637,825
314,875
Cash flows from investing activities:
Acquisition of property and equipment
(29,405)
(53,196)
(115,786)
(255,470)
Payments related to business combination, net of cash acquired
(840)
(3,859)
(2,840)
(3,859)
Purchases of intangible assets
—
—
(1,370)
(13,500)
Purchases of investments
(1,607,405)
(761,151)
(3,474,187)
(3,803,911)
Maturities of investments
842,450
632,000
2,431,770
956,010
Sales of investments
161,547
117,487
394,853
346,766
Net cash and cash equivalents used in investing activities
(633,653)
(68,719)
(767,560)
(2,773,964)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of common stock
19,949
16,209
57,196
47,316
Proceeds from debt issuances
—
—
—
14,700
Financing payments related to acquisitions
—
—
(4,450)
(750)
Net cash and cash equivalents provided by financing activities
19,949
16,209
52,746
61,266
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
2,499
(409)
1,154
398
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
(363,775)
59,785
(75,835)
(2,397,425)
Cash and cash equivalents
Beginning of period
966,406
520,264
678,466
2,977,474
End of period
$
602,631
$
580,049
$
602,631
$
580,049
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release and the accompanying tables contain the non-GAAP financial measure bookings, Adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow.
We use this non-GAAP financial information to evaluate our ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. We believe that this non-GAAP financial information may be helpful to investors because it provides consistency and comparability with past financial performance.
Bookings is defined as revenue plus the change in deferred revenue during the period and other non-cash adjustments. Substantially all of our bookings are generated from sales of virtual currency, which can ultimately be converted to virtual items on the Roblox Platform. Sales of virtual currency reflected as bookings include one-time purchases and monthly subscriptions purchased via payment processors or through prepaid cards. Bookings also include an insignificant amount from advertising and licensing arrangements. We believe bookings provide a timelier indication of trends in our operating results that are not necessarily reflected in our revenue as a result of the fact that we recognize the majority of revenue over the estimated average lifetime of a paying user. The change in deferred revenue constitutes the vast majority of the reconciling difference from revenue to bookings. By removing these non-cash adjustments, we are able to measure and monitor our business performance based on the timing of actual transactions with our users and the cash that is generated from these transactions. Adjusted EBITDA represents our GAAP consolidated net loss, excluding interest income, interest expense, other income/(expense), provision for/(benefit from) income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, stock-based compensation expense, and certain other nonrecurring adjustments. We believe that, when considered together with reported GAAP amounts, Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors and management in understanding our ongoing operations and ongoing operating trends. Our definition of Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the definition used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. Free cash flow represents the net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities less purchases of property, equipment, and intangible assets acquired through asset acquisitions. We believe that free cash flow is a useful indicator of our unit economics and liquidity that provides information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated from our core operations that, after the purchases of property, equipment, and intangible assets acquired through asset acquisitions, can be used for strategic initiatives.
Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations in their usefulness to investors because they have no standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial information as a tool for comparison. As a result, our non-GAAP financial information is presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP.
Reconciliation tables of the most comparable GAAP financial measure to the non-GAAP financial measure used in this press release are included below. We encourage investors and others to review our business, results of operations, and financial information in their entirety, not to rely on any single financial measure, and to view these non-GAAP measures in conjunction with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.
GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures Reconciliations
The following table presents a reconciliation of revenue, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, to bookings, for each of the periods presented (in thousands, unaudited):
Three Months Ended September 30,
Nine Months Ended September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Reconciliation of revenue to bookings:
Revenue
$
918,953
$
713,225
$
2,613,796
$
2,049,335
Add (deduct):
Change in deferred revenue
216,325
130,957
410,657
360,112
Other
(6,758)
(4,729)
(16,998)
(15,489)
Bookings
$
1,128,520
$
839,453
$
3,007,455
$
2,393,958
The following table presents a reconciliation of consolidated net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA, for each of the periods presented (in thousands, unaudited):
Three Months Ended September 30,
Nine Months Ended September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Reconciliation of consolidated net loss to Adjusted EBITDA:
Consolidated net loss
$
(240,447)
$
(278,808)
$
(719,562)
$
(833,597)
Add (deduct):
Interest income
(46,718)
(36,442)
(133,271)
(102,288)
Interest expense
10,286
10,268
30,853
30,409
Other (income)/expense, net
(2,352)
4,262
1,309
1,425
Provision for/(benefit from) income taxes
303
682
1,466
177
Depreciation and amortization expense(A)
68,613
53,600
175,126
153,611
Stock-based compensation expense
265,165
220,022
757,558
617,288
RTO severance charge(B)
108
—
1,101
—
Other non-cash charges(C)
—
—
—
6,988
Adjusted EBITDA
$
54,958
$
(26,416)
$
114,580
$
(125,987)
(A)Includes a one-time charge of $17.9 million related to the re-assessment of the estimated useful life of certain software licenses, resulting in the acceleration of their remaining depreciation within infrastructure and trust & safety expenses.
(B)Relates to cash severance costs associated with the Company’s return-to-office (“RTO”) plan announced in October 2023, which required a subset of the Company’s remote employees to begin working from the San Mateo headquarters for three days a week, beginning in the summer of 2024.
(C)Includes impairment expenses related to certain operating lease right-of-use assets and related property and equipment.
The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow, for each of the periods presented (in thousands, unaudited):
Three Months Ended September 30,
Nine Months Ended September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Reconciliation of net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities to free cash flow:
Net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities
$
247,430
$
112,704
$
637,825
$
314,875
Deduct:
Acquisition of property and equipment
(29,405)
(53,196)
(115,786)
(255,470)
Purchases of intangible assets
—
—
(1,370)
(13,500)
Free cash flow
$
218,025
$
59,508
$
520,669
$
45,905
Forward Looking Guidance3: GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures Reconciliations
The following table presents a reconciliation of revenue, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, to bookings, for each of the periods presented (in thousands):
Guidance
Updated Guidance
Three Months Ended December 31, 2024
Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2024
Low
High
Low
High
Reconciliation of revenue to bookings:
Revenue
$
935,000
$
960,000
$
3,548,796
$
3,573,796
Add (deduct):
Change in deferred revenue
406,000
406,000
816,657
816,657
Other
(5,000)
(5,000)
(21,998)
(21,998)
Bookings
$
1,336,000
$
1,361,000
$
4,343,455
$
4,368,455
The following table presents a reconciliation of consolidated net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA, for each of the periods presented (in thousands):
Guidance
Updated Guidance
Three Months Ended December 31, 2024
Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2024
Low
High
Low
High
Reconciliation of consolidated net loss to Adjusted EBITDA:
Consolidated net loss
$
(303,000)
$
(283,000)
$
(1,022,562)
$
(1,002,562)
Add (deduct):
Interest income
(40,000)
(40,000)
(173,271)
(173,271)
Interest expense
11,000
11,000
41,853
41,853
Other (income)/expense, net
—
—
1,309
1,309
Provision for/(benefit from) income taxes
2,000
2,000
3,466
3,466
Depreciation and amortization expense
55,000
55,000
230,126
230,126
Stock-based compensation expense
285,000
285,000
1,042,558
1,042,558
RTO severance charge(A)
—
—
1,101
1,101
Adjusted EBITDA
$
10,000
$
30,000
$
124,580
$
144,580
(A)Relates to cash severance costs associated with the Company’s RTO plan announced in October 2023, which required a subset of the Company’s remote employees to begin working from the San Mateo headquarters for three days a week, beginning in the summer of 2024.
3 Beginning April 1, 2024, the estimated average lifetime of a payer changed from 28 months to 27 months, which is reflected in our fourth quarter and updated full year 2024 GAAP and non-GAAP guidance. Based on the carrying amount of deferred revenue and deferred cost of revenue as of March 31, 2024, the April 1, 2024 change in estimated average lifetime of a payer will result in an increase in revenue and cost of revenue of $12.7 and $2.6 million, respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2024 and an increase in revenue and cost of revenue of $98.0 million and $20.4 million, respectively, during the full year 2024. Refer to “Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — Revenue Recognition” as described in the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for further background on the Company’s process to estimate the average lifetime of a payer.
The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow, for each of the periods presented (in thousands):
Guidance
Updated Guidance
Three Months Ended December 31, 2024
Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2024
Low
High
Low
High
Reconciliation of net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities to free cash flow:
Net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities
$
170,000
$
185,000
$
807,825
$
822,825
Deduct:
Acquisition of property and equipment
(70,000)
(70,000)
(185,786)
(185,786)
Purchase of intangible assets
—
—
(1,370)
(1,370)
Free cash flow
$
100,000
$
115,000
$
620,669
$
635,669
About Roblox
Roblox is an immersive platform for connection and communication. Every day, millions of people come to Roblox to create, play, work, learn, and connect with each other in experiences built by our global community of creators. Our vision is to reimagine the way people come together– in a world that is safe, civil, and optimistic. To achieve this vision, we are building an innovative company that, together with the Roblox community, has the ability to strengthen our social fabric and support economic growth for people around the world. For more about Roblox, please visit corp.roblox.com.