By George Glover

Roblox stock was surging on Thursday after the online gaming company topped Wall Street's bookings estimates and added millions more users than analysts were expecting in the first quarter.

Roblox's loss narrowed to 32 cents a share over the quarter, as bookings climbed 31% from a year ago to $1.21 billion. Analysts were expecting losses of 40 cents a share and bookings of $1.15 billion, according to a FactSet poll.

Investors have tended to see bookings, which include total net revenue and the change in deferred net revenue for online-enabled games, as a good indicator of top-line growth. Shares jumped 8.2% to $72.56 ahead of the opening bell. Futures tracking the S&P 500 were up 1.1%.

Roblox also said it had averaged 97.8 million daily users over the quarter, up 26% from a year ago and way above the 93.1 million that analysts were forecasting.

"In addition to our focus on raw performance and quality, investments in the virtual economy and search and discovery are driving growth in platform monetization, bookings, and creator earnings," Roblox founder and CEO David Baszucki said in an earnings release.

Roblox listed "the impact of inflation, tariffs and global economic conditions on our operation" among a list of potential risks moving forward -- but for now, its virtual worlds are yet to feel the impact of President Donald Trump's levies.

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May 01, 2025 08:37 ET (12:37 GMT)

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