Kim Kardashian Game Maker Glu Mobile Beats Analyst Expectations

Glu Mobile, a well-known developer of mobile games based in San Francisco, best known for popular free-to-play games such as Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores, had outperformed Wall Street’s expectations for its second fiscal quarter.

Analysts predicted a loss of four cents per share and non-GAAP revenue of $34 million for Glu. However, the company reported only a two-cent loss and generated $35 million in revenue. This significant achievement was backed by the popular Kim Kardashian app, which consistently occupied a spot in the top ten apps in terms of downloads and revenue on the iPhone for over a month, generating substantial online chatter.

Broadening its purview, Glu also announced plans to acquire Cie Games, the masterminds behind the successful Racing Rivals game franchise, for an impressive $100 million, with $30 million of it being in cash. CEO Niccolo de Masi described this as the most significant acquisition in Glu’s history during a call with investors, highlighting the company’s growing confidence in the market.

Previously, the company had bought Playfirst, the innovator behind Diner Dash, for $12 million, and announced a new Diner Dash game coming out later that year. Glu’s CFO, Eric Ludwig, confirmed that Playfirst has been wholly assimilated into the Glu ecosystem. The acquisition of Cie Games is expected to proceed similarly after its completion on August 15.

The company has raised its projections for the rest of the fiscal year, even anticipating higher earnings in the following two quarters than the total earnings of the previous year. Glu is now forecasting gross revenue of between $222 million and $232 million for the year, outpacing Wall Street’s median estimate of $184 million.

Nevertheless, the potential high cost of the acquisition has impacted Glu’s shares in after-hours trading. The value of shares dropped by 7.7 percent, or 53 cents, since the closing of the market at the time this was reported.

source: Eric Johnson/Recode

This article was updated in 2025 to reflect current trends and insights.