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Electronic Arts (): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q1 FY27, to Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 3, 2026; rules v1.1
Electronic Arts (): 1 rule of 10 triggered on the filings to Jun 30, 2026: FCF growth = the business improved; 4 with insufficient data; 2 not applicable. Each is a question to verify, with the normal explanation that would produce the same figures.
Check these first
FCF growth = the business improved Triggered · severity high · confidence high
Free cash flow rose $465M (+25%), from $1.9B to $2.3B, but working capital released $699M more cash than the year before: more than the whole increase came from sources that need not repeat. Operating cash flow before working capital fell by $225M.
Innocent reading: An expansion programme finished, so capex fell back to maintenance levels for good.
Every rule
A01 FCF growth = the business improved Triggered severity high · confidence high
Free cash flow rose $465M (+25%), from $1.9B to $2.3B, but working capital released $699M more cash than the year before: more than the whole increase came from sources that need not repeat. Operating cash flow before working capital fell by $225M.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY25 |
| Fiscal year | FY26 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $2.1B |
| Operating cash flow | $2.6B |
| Capex, year before | $221M |
| Capex | $230M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $1.9B |
| Free cash flow | $2.3B |
| Change in FCF | $465M |
| Change in capex | $9M |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | $699M |
| Of which: capex cut | 0.00 |
| Of which: working capital released | $699M |
| Share of the increase that need not repeat | +150.3% |
| Operating cash flow before working capital: change | -225000000.00 |
FCF = operating cash flow − cash capex; ΔFCF = ΔOCF − ΔCapEx; the working-capital part is the change in the cash-bridge items (receivables, inventory, payables, accruals), with the sign of the cash flow statement
Source: FY26 (cash flow statement, fiscal year) · FY25 (cash flow statement, fiscal year before)
What would explain it innocently
- An expansion programme finished, so capex fell back to maintenance levels for good
- Suppliers agreed longer payment terms in a contract
- Inventory was brought down after a glut and will stay down
What to look for in the filing
- Maintenance capex (what it costs to keep the assets working)
- Supplier payment terms and any supply-chain financing
- Management's capex guidance for next year
What would show the trap does not apply
- Next year's FCF holds or rises with capex back at its earlier level and working capital no longer releasing cash
- The 10-K's capex guidance and the segment capex show the cut is a completed programme, not deferral
- The working-capital release matches a disclosed change in terms or a divestiture, not stretched payables or a collection push
Look again: next filing.
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Not triggered confidence high
Stock compensation is 8.7% of revenue, but buybacks of $769M covered it (1.2×) and the diluted share count fell 4.2%: the dilution has been paid for in cash.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY26 |
| Stock compensation | $656M |
| Revenue | $7.5B |
| SBC / revenue | +8.7% |
| Buybacks | $769M |
| Buybacks / SBC | 1.2 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 264.0M shares |
| Diluted shares | 253.0M shares |
| Diluted shares: change | -4.2% |
SBC / revenue from the cash flow statement's add-back; the diluted weighted share count year over year; buybacks from the financing section
Source: FY26 (stock compensation, buybacks and the diluted share count, fiscal year)
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Not triggered confidence medium
Receivables grew -2% against revenue 19% in Q1 FY27; DSO 26 against a median of 40: collections are keeping pace with sales.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q1 FY27 |
| Revenue, year over year | +18.9% |
| Receivables, year over year | -1.7% |
| Quarter before | Q3 FY26 |
| Revenue y/y, quarter before | +1.0% |
| Receivables y/y, quarter before | +11.7% |
| Days sales outstanding | 26.5 |
| DSO, median of eight quarters | 40.3 |
| Receivables | $524M |
| Revenue | $2.0B |
receivables and revenue against the same quarter a year earlier; DSO = receivables / quarterly revenue × days, against the median of the eight quarters before
Source: Q1 FY27 (receivables and revenue) · Q1 FY26 (the same quarter a year earlier)
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit Insufficient data
no reconciliation table read from the releases yet and fewer than three quarters with both an adjusted and a GAAP EPS
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Insufficient data
no balance-sheet cash or debt on file
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not triggered confidence high
EPS rose 98% and net income rose 98% in Q1 FY27; the share count rose 0.0%: EPS growth follows profit growth.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q1 FY27 |
| Quarter before | Q1 FY26 |
| EPS, year before | $0.79 |
| EPS | $1.56 |
| Net income, year before | $201M |
| Net income | $397M |
| Diluted shares, year before | 254.0M shares |
| Diluted shares | 254.0M shares |
| EPS growth | +97.6% |
| Net income growth | +97.5% |
| Diluted shares: change | +0.0% |
| eps from profit | $0.77 |
| eps from share count | $0.00 |
EPS and net income against the same quarter a year earlier; the EPS bridge attributes the change to profit first, then to the share count (the order is fixed and disclosed)
Source: Q1 FY27 (net income, diluted shares, EPS) · Q1 FY26 (the same quarter a year earlier)
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Insufficient data
no market value or trailing net income in the valuation research
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value Insufficient data
no DCF in the valuation research for this company
J06 A bank's low P/E and high profit = safe Not applicable
not a bank
J08 A REIT's low net income = the dividend is unsafe Not applicable
not a REIT
What the statuses mean
Triggered: the filings show the pattern; read the normal explanations and the missing evidence before concluding anything. To review: one quarter or a weak signal; a reader's judgement, not a pattern. Not triggered: the pattern is absent on these figures. Insufficient data: the filings read so far do not hold what the rule needs; this is not a clean bill. Not applicable: the rule is not meant for this kind of company (a bank's working capital, a loss-making quarter's EPS growth). Out of date: the latest filing is more than fifteen months old.
Severity is what the pattern could mean for cash, value or solvency; confidence is how reliable the inputs and the reading are. The two are kept apart.
Record a view
A reader's judgement, grounds, what would change it and the next review; kept in the browser (needs JavaScript).
Every rule and the companies it triggers on → Electronic Arts: cash flow →
Each rule reads the company's own filings by a fixed formula and says what would explain the same figures innocently. A triggered rule is a question to verify, not a finding of manipulation, and not a view on the stock. Missing data is shown as missing, never as clear. Not investment advice.