Snail - Earnings Call - Q4 2024

Executive Summary

• Q4 2024 revenue was $26.21M, a slight year-over-year decline but a sequential increase; it beat a thin Wall Street consensus of $25.0M. EPS of $0.03 missed the $0.07 consensus, while non-GAAP EBITDA of $1.6M fell well below the $3.74M consensus. Bolded outcomes below reflect these beat/miss dynamics. Revenue Consensus $25.0M*, EPS Consensus $0.07*, EBITDA Consensus $3.74M*.
• Bookings fell sharply year-over-year to $17.0M from $52.6M due to the prior-year ASA launch timing, though sequentially were roughly flat; full-year revenue rose 38.7% to $84.47M with net income of $1.83M vs a loss in 2023, driven by deferred revenue recognition from ARK DLCs.
• ARK Ultimate Mobile Edition launched in December with 2M downloads in the launch month and contributed to engagement; Q4 net revenue included ~$8.0M recognition from Extinction and Bob’s Tall Tales DLC releases plus $15.5M in ARK sales and $1.0M from Bellwright.
• Management emphasized continued AI investment to enhance creativity/productivity and outlined 2025 content cadence and platform expansion; Bellwright is targeted for Xbox in Q4 2025, pending Game Pass decisions, which could broaden reach.

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

• What Went Well

  • Q4 revenue beat consensus with ASA DLC releases and steady ARK sales; full-year revenue grew 38.7% and EBITDA swung positive year-over-year, reflecting strong franchise monetization via deferred revenue recognition. Revenue Consensus $25.0M*, Actual $26.21M.
  • Mobile expansion: ARK Ultimate Mobile Edition achieved 2M downloads in December and helped drive a 62% DAU surge on Steam during Extinction’s launch weekend, supporting the franchise’s cross-platform reach.
  • Strategic focus on AI: “We remain committed to being pioneers…including strategic investments in advanced AI technologies that enhance both creativity and productivity,” signaling internal efficiency and content pipeline support.

• What Went Wrong

  • EPS and EBITDA misses versus consensus amid higher R&D; Q4 net income fell to $1.12M vs $2.40M in Q4 2023 due to a $3.0M increase in R&D to support future releases, despite lower advertising and marketing expense. EPS Consensus $0.07*, Actual $0.03; EBITDA Consensus $3.74M*, Actual $1.6M.
  • Bookings dropped to $17.0M from $52.6M year-over-year given ASA’s launch timing and lower ASPs of later DLCs, highlighting near-term unit/mix pressure despite engagement strength.
  • Cash and cash equivalents decreased to $7.30M from $15.20M year-over-year, as financing repayments and working capital movements reduced liquidity, raising sensitivity to execution on upcoming releases.

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to Snail Inc.'s Q4 and full year 2024 Earnings Conference Call and webcast. I would now like to turn the call over to Brett Milotte, Managing Director at ICR. Please go ahead.

Brett Milotte (Managing Director)

Thank you. Good afternoon, and welcome to Snail's Q4 and full year 2024 earnings conference call and webcast. On today's call, we have Tony Tian, Co-CEO; Peter Kang, Senior Vice President, Director of Business Development Operations; and Heidy Chow, Chief Financial Officer. The company's Q4 and full year 2024 earnings press release was filed today with the SEC after the U.S. stock market closed and is available on the Investor Relations section of Snail's website at www.snail.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov/edgar. During this call, management may make forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future financial performance of the company. Actual events and results may differ materially from our expectations, and forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Please refer to the company's Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC and other SEC filings.

The company makes these forward-looking statements as of today and disclaims any duty or obligation to update them or to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Additionally, on today's call, we refer to bookings and EBITDA, which are non-GAAP financial measures, to provide useful information for the company's investors. You will find a historical reconciliation of bookings and EBITDA to the corresponding GAAP measures in the earnings press release and the company's SEC filings. I will turn the call over to Tony Tian, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Snail. Tony?

Tony Tian (Co-CEO)

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'm very excited to share with you our results for the quarter and full year, as well as provide you with some updates with our game portfolio and specifically our ARK franchise. With the release of Extinction DLC and Part 3 of Bob's Tall Tales DLC for ARK: Survival Ascended in the Q4, we continue to capitalize on the increasing popularity of the franchise by engaging new players and continuing to excite our existing community through innovative updates and launches within the ARK franchise. We remain committed to being pioneers in the world of interactive entertainment, including strategic investment in advanced AI technologies that enhance both creativity and productivity. Now, I will provide some updates on the ARK franchise. During the Q4, we released the highly anticipated next-gen ARK mobile game, ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, on iOS and Android platforms.

In the December launch month, over 2 million users downloaded the mobile game across the two mobile platforms. Through December 31, 2024, ARK has been played for 3.9 million billion hours, with an average playing time per user of 162.1 hours. Additionally, as we highlighted previously, the top 21.3% of all players have spent over 100 hours immersed in the game, according to data from Steam. We are thrilled with the continued success of the ARK franchise and to see so many players entrench themselves in the ARK universe. Before I hand the call off to Peter and Heidy to discuss our results in more detail, let's quickly go over the financials from the quarter. For the Q4 of 2024, Snail generated net revenue of $26.2 million, a decrease from the $28.6 million in the Q4 of 2023.

In the Q4 of 2024, net revenue includes the recognition of $8.0 million in revenue from the release of Extinction and Part 3 of Box Tortoise, ARK sales of $15.5 million, and Bellwright sales of $1.0 million. Thank you all again for joining. With that, I will now hand the call over to Peter Kang, our Senior Vice President, Director of Business Development and Operations, to review our product roadmap and share some key developments. Peter.

Peter Kang (SVP, Director of Business Development and Operations)

Thank you, Tony. Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. I'd like to provide some updates on each of our core franchises. First, an update on Bellwright. As of the end of 2024, we have sold over 367,000 units to date, and the Wishlist count for the game remains over 1 million. Regarding Honeycomb: The World Beyond, it is a survival sandbox game set on an exuberant planet, Sota 7. Explore its vast world and face challenges on your bioengineering journey. Crossbreed plants or animals, gather resources, craft items, and conduct experiments in order to develop new species. Honeycomb continues to represent Snail's dedication to providing a unique gameplay experience within the survival genre. We're excited to release this game in 2025. Echoes of Elysium is an airship RPG set in the procedural world of Elysium. Gather resources to design, build, and live on your customized airships.

Alone or with friends, take to the skies and discover clockwork wonders that clash with ancient mysteries in an untamed paradise. Robots at Midnight bash through gangs of hostile robots and corrupt bosses in this stylish and punchy action RPG. Robots at Midnight is a retro-futuristic souls-like that takes place on Yob, a world now in ruins. Built as a luxury destination, the planet is overrun with dangers challenging for any human to endure. Be home before midnight. Moving on to our indie publishing label, Wandering Wizard. As mentioned previously, we have expanded our publishing catalog with several games signed earlier this year: The Seasol, The Journey Begins, Chasm of Fear, Castle of Secrets, and Stoneguard. All of these indie titles will be gradually released in our pipeline.

At the end of 2024, Wandering Wizard has many game titles at various stages of development and has maintained our commitment to identifying new opportunities that emphasize gameplay excellence and clear market fit. Let's turn now to the ARK franchise. For ARK: Survival Ascended, we released the Extinction DLC and Part 3 of the Bob's Tall Tales DLC in the Q4. On the mobile side, we released the highly anticipated revamp of the original ARK mobile game, ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, in December of 2024. Through the year-end, ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition has accumulated more than 2 million downloads. Looking ahead to 2025, we are proud to celebrate the launch of the Astraeus map as an official partner DLC for ARK: Survival Ascended, a significant evolution from its origins as a community-created mod by acclaimed map maker Nekatus.

Now fully supported as a paid DLC, the Astraeus map infuses the ARK universe with a rich Greek mythology twist, delivering immersive new environments and challenges that transform the overall gameplay experience. We are excited to announce the 10-year anniversary ARK: Survival Evolved Aquatica DLC, a fully underwater gameplay experience. Waking up on Aquatica, a crash-landed ARK submerged with a vast underwater biome, survivors are thrust into exotic challenges never before encountered. Extreme environmental hazards, crushing pressures, rapid currents, and a host of extraordinary creatures await within the mysterious depths. On Aquatica, survivors will uncover the potential source of Element and catch a glimpse of what the future holds for those bold enough to endure. Aquatica is the first official DLC to tell a non-canonical mythical story, expanding the ARK universe into new dimensions of survival.

We are excited for the next chapter in the ARK universe with the release of ARK: Lost Colony DLC for ARK: Survival Ascended towards the end of the year. ARK: Lost Colony is a full-size canonical expansion pack featuring a new map, creatures, items, structures, and a continuation of the story of ARK. I will now pass the call out to Heidy to discuss our financial results in more detail. Heidy?

Heidy Kingwan Chow (CFO)

Thank you, Peter. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us. As mentioned, net revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was $26.2 million as compared to $28.6 million in the three months ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in revenues during the three months ended December 31, 2024, was due to a reduction in sales of ARK that was partially offset by the recognition of deferred revenue upon the release of ARK: Survival Ascended DLCs noted in our financial statements. Net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $84.5 million as compared to $60.9 million in the prior year period.

The increase in net revenues was due to an increase in recognition of deferred revenue of $32.2 million related to the ARK franchise, an increase in sales of Bellwright of $5.9 million, partially offset by a decrease in total ARK sales of $13 million, a decrease in ARK mobile sales of $1 million, and a decrease in the company's other titles of $700,000. Net income in the Q4 of 2024 was $1.1 million versus $2.4 million in the Q4 of 2023. The decrease in net income is a result of increased research and development costs of $3 million to support our future game releases, partially offset by an increase in gross profit of $1.4 million and a decrease in advertising and marketing expenses of $900,000.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2024, increased significantly to $1.8 million versus a net loss of $9.1 million in the prior year period due to an increase in net revenue of $23.6 million. Decreased general and administrative expenses of $2.9 million, partially offset by increased research and development costs of $6.5 million, increased cost of revenue of $5.9 million, and a decrease in income tax benefit of $3 million. Bookings for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was $17 million as compared to $52.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in bookings is due mainly to the release of ARK: Survival Ascended in the Q4 of 2023. Bookings for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $75.7 million as compared to $85.7 million in the prior year period.

Bookings decreased by $10 million, or 11.7%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, because of increased sales at a higher ASP driven by the release of ARK: Survival Ascended in the Q4 of 2023. The releases of Bob's Tall Tales and Bellwright, along with the ARK: Survival Ascended DLC, Scorched Earth in April 2024, Aberration in September 2024, and Extinction in December 2024 partially offset the decrease in unit sales in 2024, but each product release was at a lower ASP than the initial release of ARK: Survival Ascended.

Additionally, the company recognized $13.2 million from deferred revenue upon the release of Scorched Earth, Aberration, and the first two parts of Bob's Tall Tales in 2024, and deferred $6.7 million in revenues during the year ended December 31, 2024, for the ARK: Survival Ascended DLCs that have not yet released as compared to $22 million in revenue deferred during the year ended December 31, 2023, for the ARK: Survival Ascended DLC and parts of Bob's Tall Tales that have not yet launched. EBITDA for the quarter was $1.6 million versus $3.6 million in the prior year period. The $2.5, 55.6% decrease in EBITDA was due to a decrease in net income of $1.3 million, a decrease in interest expenses and interest expenses related party of $400,000, and a decrease in provision of income taxes of $300,000.

EBITDA for the year was $3.2 million versus a loss of $9.7 million in the prior year period. The $12.9 million, or 133.4%, increase in EBITDA was primarily because of an increase in net income of $10.9 million and a decrease in the benefit from income taxes of $3 million, partially offset by decrease in interest expense and interest expense related party of $800,000. As of December 31, 2024, unrestricted cash and cash equivalent was $7.3 million. To review our detailed financial statements, please refer to the earnings press release, our most recent 10-Q, and our 10-K filing. Thank you all for joining us today. We will now open the line for Q&A. Operator?

Operator (participant)

Thank you. We'll now be conducting a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. Our first question is from Michael Kapinski with Noble Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.

Michael Kupinski (Analyst)

Thank you. Congratulations on a solid quarter. I have a couple of questions. When do you anticipate Bellwright would be available on Xbox? How many new games do you have access to Bellwright, or how many new gamers will have access to Bellwright on Xbox? Could you just talk a little bit about whether or not it would be a good candidate for Game Pass?

Peter Kang (SVP, Director of Business Development and Operations)

Hi, this is Peter Kang. I'm going to try to give some answers to this question. We do anticipate Bellwright to be available on the Xbox platform in Q4 of 2025. As far as how many new gamers, that's hard to say. There's lots of console gamers out there that enjoy the survival simulation crafting type of gameplay. We do believe it is a unique product in that catalog. There's not too many of those types of games on that platform. If I were to have to guess, it might be at least as much as we have on PC over time. As far as if it would be a good candidate for the Game Pass program, that's up to Microsoft to consider. We do have communications open with their team regarding that subject. Hopefully that question can get answered in the future.

As of right now, we don't have a definite confirmation.

Michael Kupinski (Analyst)

Thank you. Another question. I know that several gaming companies in the past have gotten into a little bit of trouble as they tried to develop more games and then just kind of ran out of resources. I know that you have a different process for that, and I was wondering if you can kind of describe that a little bit and then also discuss some of your newer titles, potential release timelines, and also the benefits of doing some revenue diversification.

Peter Kang (SVP, Director of Business Development and Operations)

Sure, sure. That's a very complicated question, but I'll do my best to break it down. We definitely have increased our licensing pipeline. Last year, we went out and signed 11 new publishing deals to publish content manufactured and developed by third parties. We also kicked off or continued development of three internal projects. These projects are bigger in scale, using some with new IPs like the project For the Stars and some with flagship IPs that we have retained for many years, named Nine Yin Sutra, I believe. Right. As we move on, we're constantly looking for new projects to publish. We're very active in the sector looking for different projects to publish. The projects that we have signed, Honeycomb, for example, that is coming out on the second half of 2025.

Echoes of Elysium, another sandbox survival game that will also be arriving second half of 2025. Robots at Midnight is going to be the first half of 2025, so coming up here in a few months.

Michael Kupinski (Analyst)

How do you allocate your resources among the marketing spend against some of the titles? How do you allocate those resources?

Peter Kang (SVP, Director of Business Development and Operations)

Sure. The resource allocation is mainly based on an analytical approach, where we look at the size of the market that the game will be actively trying to establish a presence in. Based on the size of that market, we do some math and we deduce the correct amount of marketing budget that we can afford to spend on the project.

Michael Kupinski (Analyst)

Great. That's all I have. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the floor back over to management for any closing remarks. This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect.