Roblox Bookings Surge 63% in Q4 Blowout Quarter
Gaming platform reports $2.2B in bookings and 144M daily active users, but profitability remains elusive as shares whipsaw in after-hours trading.
Roblox just posted numbers that would make most growth companies jealous. Revenue up 43%. Bookings up 63%. Daily active users up 60 million year-over-year. And the stock still couldn't hold its after-hours gains.
The gaming and social platform reported Q4 revenue of $1.4 billion and bookings of $2.2 billion, both meaningfully above consensus expectations of $1.36 billion and $2.05 billion. Losses narrowed to $-0.45 per share versus the $-0.48 estimate. Daily active users hit 144 million, up from 84.7 million in Q4 2024—a 69% increase that underscores the platform's expanding reach beyond its core under-18 demographic.
Shares initially surged as much as 20% in after-hours trading before giving back most of the gains as broader tech weakness dragged on sentiment.
The Growth Story
Roblox's numbers reflect a platform that is monetizing better, not just growing users. Average bookings per daily active user rose to $15.29, up from $13.26 a year ago—a sign that the advertising and premium experience initiatives are working.
The company's push into older demographics is paying off. Users aged 17 and above now represent the fastest-growing segment, and branded experiences from companies like Nike, Gucci, and Warner Bros. are generating meaningful revenue. Roblox's advertising business, launched in late 2024, is scaling rapidly. Management said ad revenue grew over 300% year-over-year in Q4, though they didn't disclose the absolute number.
Developer payouts also hit a record $267 million in the quarter. Roblox pays creators roughly 30% of bookings, and the ecosystem now has over 4 million active developers—a flywheel that keeps content fresh without Roblox bearing the production cost.
The Profitability Gap
For all the top-line momentum, Roblox is still burning cash. The company reported a net loss of $271 million for Q4 and negative free cash flow of $143 million. Stock-based compensation remains elevated at $412 million for the quarter, diluting existing shareholders.
Management guided for full-year 2026 bookings of $9.5-9.8 billion and said they expect to reach "adjusted EBITDA breakeven" by Q4 2026. They've been making this promise for a while. The adjusted metric strips out stock comp, so real GAAP profitability is likely still a year or more away.
This is the tension for RBLX shareholders. The growth is undeniable—few consumer internet companies are putting up 40-60% top-line expansion at this scale. But the operating leverage isn't materializing as fast as bulls expected. Infrastructure costs for the platform's 3D rendering engine and real-time multiplayer backbone continue to scale roughly in line with users.
Where Roblox Fits in the Market
The after-hours whipsaw captures the current market mood. In a normal tape, these numbers would send the stock up double digits. But this isn't a normal tape. The tech selloff has investors skeptical of any growth story that doesn't come with profits, and the SaaS crash is making all software and platform names trade heavier.
Roblox trades at roughly 8x forward bookings, down from 12x last fall. That's not expensive for the growth rate, but the market is repricing what it's willing to pay for unprofitable growth stories. Compare that to Palantir's blowout quarter earlier this week, where profitability was the key differentiator.
For traders, the 20% after-hours spike that faded is a cautionary signal. The gap between where fundamentals say the stock should trade and where the market is willing to put it right now is wide. Until the broader earnings season stabilizes sentiment, even strong results may not be enough to overcome the gravitational pull of risk-off positioning. The $55-58 range is the zone to watch—if the stock can hold above last week's low, the growth story stays intact.