Roblox revenue rises 16% to $1.6 billion as bookings fall 12% and shares slide

Roblox reported third-quarter revenue of $1.6 billion, up 16% from a year earlier, and bookings of $1.7 billion, down 12%. Both figures came in above analyst estimates. ¹²

The two numbers move in opposite directions because they measure different things. Bookings count what players spend in a period. Revenue is the portion the company recognizes in its accounts, and that can lag spending. The sources do not walk through Roblox’s accounting, so take that as the general distinction rather than a company explanation. Roblox attributed the bookings drop to a comparatively strong 2025, and said Q3 bookings were up more than 50% on a two-year basis. ¹

The user figures were the weak spot. Average daily active users fell 9% year over year to 138 million, short of the 145.77 million analysts expected. Hours engaged dropped 15% to 34 billion, which still topped the 32.99 billion estimate. Bookings per daily user slipped 3% to $12.29, and monthly unique payers fell 16% to 30.3 million. Roblox blamed “difficult comparisons” to 2025. ¹²

The company posted a net loss of $230 million. It generated $364 million in free cash flow and held $1.09 billion in cash, ahead of the $875.2 million estimate. Loss per share was $0.32 against an expected $0.43. ¹²

The market reacted to the outlook. For Q4, Roblox projected bookings of $1.89 billion to $2.00 billion, below the $2.01 billion consensus. It guided revenue of $1.47 billion to $1.58 billion against an estimate of $1.56 billion, and a net loss of $363 million to $423 million, wider than the $295.9 million analysts expected. Shares fell more than 17% in premarket trading Friday. ² CNA’s headline ties the weaker bookings forecast to algorithm and safety changes. ³

In its shareholder letter, Roblox focused on AI. It said more than 80% of its top 100 games by hours engaged used AI tools to speed up creation. Published games using AI grew more than 50% quarter over quarter. ¹ CEO David Baszucki said AI is driving “a step function change” in how fast content gets made. ¹²

The company is also pushing for older players. It said over-18 is its fastest-growing cohort, and that in the US these users monetize more than 50% above the under-18 audience. It cited a higher Developer Exchange rate for over-18 US users and paid acquisition aimed at adults. ¹

Outlook: Q4 guidance will be tested when the next quarterly results arrive.

Our read: Revenue is the number that beat; users are the number that matters. Roblox is asking investors to accept a smaller, older, higher-spending audience and a wave of AI-built games to offset it. The Q4 bookings guide, below consensus, suggests the market is not yet persuaded. Quarterly results do not settle whether that trade is working. The next few do.

Footnotes

1. GamesIndustry.biz, “Roblox Q3 results beat expectations despite bookings falling 12% to $1.7bn”. Retrieved October 30, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Yahoo Finance, “Roblox shares fall as user growth and guidance miss expectations”. Retrieved October 30, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. CNA, “Roblox’s algorithm, safety changes dent bookings forecast; shares slump”. Retrieved October 30, 2026. ↩