Whether you hate it or love it, Candy Crush has become one of the most popular games in the last few years. Therefore it might be a tad surprising to find out that share prices for King, the maker behind the addictive game, fell about 20% dropping share value to an all time low. After an initial public offering King’s stock opened at $22.50 in March. Since that time the stock has fallen eight dollars.
The cause in King’s stock devaluation seems to be as a result of players spending less for bonus features in the game. While the game is free to play, Candy Crush offers plenty of opportunities to spend money on extra features including bonus lives and extra special bonus candies. The game’s success shot King to the top of the mobile game making industry.
Financial Times reported that King CEO Riccardo Zacconi denied that the stock decrease was due to a demise in the casual mobile gaming trend. Still not even a special dividend of $150 million and a new agreement by top executives could stem the tide of shareholders that have began to depart. Still King insists its not all their fault.
The company blames outside influencers such as the World Cup and Glu’s new smash hit Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. In game purchases dropped by 5% during the three months that ended in June. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian’s new game made $1.6 million in five days and many experts believe the game could bring in as much as $200 million by the end of this year.
But all does not seem to be lost for King. The company reported a 30% increase in revenue for its second quarter, reaching $594 million. They expect gross bookings to fall anywhere between $2.25-2.35 billion for the entire year. The recently paid special dividend however has some investors and analysts believing that any hope for regular dividends might not come anytime soon. They’re looking for King to prove them wrong.
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