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Roblox New Tools Could Accelerate Growth, But Monetization Visibility Remains Low, Wedbush Says

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Roblox New Tools Could Accelerate Growth, But Monetization Visibility Remains Low, Wedbush Says

Roblox's (RBLX) new tools and features announced at its annual developers conference Friday could help accelerate growth, though more visibility is needed on how the video game platform will monetize these initiatives, Wedbush Securities said in a Monday client note.

The company on Friday unveiled Roblox Everywhere, allowing creators to make their games available as stand-alone apps across mobile, PC and consoles. Players could join a game in-browser and continue a session without connectivity, including in-flight.

The company will also roll out Roblox Wallet later this year to ensure daily payouts to developers, as well as launch Roblox Card to allow developers to spend outside the platform. Meanwhile, the "build" feature lets developers generate games from text prompts.

The Roblox Developers Conference showed that the group is taking steps to build on its re-expansion opportunity, Wedbush analysts led by Alicia Reese wrote in the note. However, Roblox is yet to fully address how it will convert engagement into monetization.

"We need more evidence on the monetization side, and specifically on the timeline for these initiatives to show up in bookings, before turning more constructive," Reese said.

The company did not update its guidance at the conference, leaving it unclear whether bookings will grow in 2026 year over year, according to Reese.

In July, Roblox projected third-quarter bookings to come in between $1.58 billion and $1.65 billion, reflecting an annual decline of 14% to 18%. The current consensus on FactSet is for $1.63 billion. In the previous quarter, the company logged bookings of $1.56 billion.

Wedbush may view Roblox more favorably if its discovery algorithm retention benefit shows up in monetization data with a quantifiable timeline.

"Until then, with (comparisons) getting harder into a monetization air pocket, investment spending rising, and visibility low, the risk/reward keeps us sidelined," Reese said.

Wedbush maintained a neutral rating on Roblox's stock and lifted its 12-month price target on the company to $48 from $40.

Price: $48.32, Change: $+2.82, Percent Change: +6.20%

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HKG:9618
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