Roblox Corp. shares plunged in extended trading Tuesday after the videogame company said that a key sales metric unexpectedly declined for the second quarter in a row. Roblox
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reported a second-quarter loss of $176.4 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with a loss of $140.1 million, or 25 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 30% to $591.2 million from $454.1 million in the year-ago quarter, but bookings fell 4% to $639.9 million from $665.5 million in the year-ago period.
Analysts, on average, had forecast a loss of 25 cents a share on bookings of $683.6 million. Analysts focus on bookings for Roblox and other videogame companies, as it reflects more than just the revenue the company was able to recognize in the quarter. The company defines bookings as “revenue plus the change in deferred revenue during the period and other noncash adjustments.” The importance of bookings comes into play as the company sells virtual currency on its site that may be considered deferred revenue. Shares fell 17% in after-hours trading, after closing with 3.4% decline in the regular session to close at $47.26. Read: The Roblox non-IPO: 5 things to know about the tween-centric gaming platform’s direct listing Average daily active users, or DAUs, were 52.2 million, up 21% from the year-ago period. Average bookings for each DAU declined 21%, however, to $12.25. Last quarter, Roblox shares also came under fire after the company reporte …