Investors in Take-Two Interactive Software won’t see the latest Grand Theft Auto VI game hit store shelves this year as previously planned, but that hasn’t dampened sentiment on the stock.
Shares are still less than one percent below the record set earlier this month despite the company delaying the release of the sixth installment in the popular franchise until next year. Key Reason: There’s a lot of excitement about the other games the company is developing, including Borderlands 4, It is expected to be a blockbuster.
“You can’t put the entire gaming industry into a Netflix-style safety bucket, but you can look at Take-Two this way because there’s no real impact from the tariffs and its pipeline is so strong that the upside from new content should outweigh any negative impact we see on the downside,” said Alec Boccanfuso, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, who said the stock is one of his top holdings.
The company announced the postponement earlier this month Grand Theft Auto VI Starting this fall, the news broke and the stock price fell from its all-time high. The pre-announced delays could reduce risks to post-closing results, especially since Take-Two said it expects net bookings, a measure of revenue, to continue growing and hit record levels in fiscal 2026 and 2027.
The game has missed multiple deadlines but is widely expected to be one of the biggest games of the decade; Bloomberg Intelligence estimates it could generate $2 billion (roughly Rs. 17,115 crore) in net revenue in its first year. However, despite the revenue delay, Wall Street believes the company remains well-positioned amid heightened uncertainty.
“I’m obviously going to love GTA 6 It’s coming out this year, but the game is under more pressure than any game I’ve seen in my life, so they’re better off delaying and polishing it than risking a poor user experience. Boccanfuso said. “The game’s revenue is just being delayed, not wiped out, and I think the company’s comments about pre-orders are enough for investors to hold on until it launches.” “
The stock is up about 27% this year, making Take-Two one of the 10 best-performing stocks in the Nasdaq 100 Index. Overall, video games are a bright spot amid market volatility in 2025; the Goldman Sachs Video Game Publishers Index is up more than 30%, while the Nasdaq 100 is up 2%.
Take-Two rose 1.5% on Thursday.
Take-Two’s fourth-quarter results are expected to see revenue growth of about 15% and net profit nearly doubling from the same period last year.
Analysts have cut their forecasts for 2026 since the company announced it would delay the launch to fiscal 2027, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Estimates for fiscal 2026 net profit have fallen about 32% over the past month, while revenue consensus has declined 5.4%. That makes the stock look more expensive; it trades at about 32 times earnings, above its 10-year average of 26 times and nearly double EA’s 18 times earnings.
But even with the downward revision, Take-Two’s revenue growth is still expected to accelerate to nearly 40% in fiscal 2026, up from just over 5% this year.
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote that despite the delays, he’s “highly optimistic about Take-Two’s trajectory through 2027, driven by a strong lineup of high-profile games.”
There’s still a lot of hype around it Grand Theft Auto VIand the release of a new trailer last week supported the stock, helping it repair some of the damage caused by the delayed news.
Fun in Haven
Ahead of Take-Two’s report, peers had highlighted the sector’s risk-off character. Electronic Arts Inc. last week reported better-than-expected net bookings forecasts, while video game platform Roblox Corp. also reported strong results, suggesting the group is not seeing headwinds related to the macro backdrop.
Roblox is up 37% this year, while EA is up just 0.6%, but that largely reflects a sell-off in January following weak initial results; it’s up 26% from the lows hit that month.
Take-Two is the most popular among major U.S. companies, with more than 90% of analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommending buying the stock, compared with nearly two-thirds for Roblox and just over 40% for EA. However, the stock is trading essentially in line with analysts’ average price target, suggesting that Wall Street, at least for now, doesn’t see much upside in the next 12 months.
“The stock’s rise this year suggests good expectations for the report, but I think it’s still a compelling value proposition,” said Nate Miller, vice president of product development and management at Amplify ETFs. “We want to make sure a new launch date is locked in, but would still rather wait for a quality product than see something rush out. There’s real reputational risk if you get it wrong, and there’s just too much hype around it. Grand Theft Auto“.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
