Roblox shares soar 27% as gains in users and virtual currency purchases lift quarterly results

• Roblox stock surged as much as 27% Wednesday after fourth-quarter results beat forecasts.
• Bookings rose by 17% in the holiday quarter compared to the previous year.

Shares in Roblox, a game platform where users create their own activities, jumped on Wednesday after the company announced fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed expectations.

Roblox stock surged as much as 27% to an intraday high of $45.34, hitting the highest level since December 2021.

In the fourth quarter, per-share losses widened to 48 cents, but that was better than the expected loss of 52 cents. Bookings — revenue derived from in-game purchases of the robux virtual currency — rose 17% to $899.4 million, beating forecasts for $881.4 million.

This is in part due to a surge in new players, as the platform sought to expand its customer base to other countries and attract older audiences.

By the end of December, there were 58.8 million daily active users, a 19% rise from a year ago. Time spent in the game also rose by 18%.

"Growth was strong across all geographies and age groups with particular strength among users above 17 years old," said CFO Michael Guthrie in a statement.

January has continued the growth trend, with daily active users rising to 65 million and bookings growth estimated to accelerate to 19%-20%.

In the past, the stock performed exceptionally well in 2021, as many were forced to stay at home during the pandemic, selling at around $135 a share at its peak.