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Investing.com -- CD Projekt (WA:CDR) shares plummeted around 10% Wednesday after the company announced that "Witcher IV" will launch sometime after 2026. The game is the first in a new trilogy expanding the universe of its best-selling Witcher franchise.
The announced timing came later than some investors had hoped. Analysts had previously projected a release window between 2026 and 2028.
CFO Piotr Nielubowicz said Tuesday that no firm launch date would be given yet, but the company chose to signal a post-2026 release “to give more visibility to investors.”
The update accompanied solid Q4 and full-year results, supported by resilient demand for CD Projekt’s back catalogue.
Revenues saw a boost in the fourth quarter following the September 2023 release of the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, though overall Cyberpunk sales fell 31% year-on-year.
Full-year operating profit reached PLN 372 million, beating the consensus estimate of PLN 300 million, while margins rose 660 basis points to 38%.
Net profit declined 2.3% to PLN 469.9 million, but still ahead of the PLN 390 million forecast in a Reuters poll.
Annual revenue dropped nearly 20% to PLN 985 million.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analysts said the post-2026 release of Witcher IV "leaves the company without a material release for 2+ years and likely implies sequential revenue and earnings declines" for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
The firm reiterated an Underweight rating on CD Projekt, highlighting that "shares trade on a premium to best-in-class global peers even in 2027 (when the next game could be released) despite execution risk and possibility of delays."
"We see a better risk-reward at Equal Weight-rated Ubisoft (EPA:UBIP)," they added.