Quarterly Report — Q3 2024
Filed October 31, 2024
Revenue hit $919M in Q3 2024, up 29% year-over-year, but the company is still deep in the red with a net loss of $280M for the quarter. The nine-month loss ballooned to $918M on $2.7B in revenue, with stock-based compensation remaining a massive drag at over $200M per quarter. The US and Canada still drive roughly half of all revenue, though international growth — particularly in Europe and Asia-Pacific — continues to diversify the base.
Filing details
Performance by segment
Roblox Platform
Roblox operates as a single reportable segment — its immersive platform for connection and communication. Revenue grew 29% YoY to $918.9 million in Q3 2024, driven by higher amortization of prior period deferred revenue and increased bookings. Bookings rose to $1.13 billion in Q3 2024 from $839.5 million in Q3 2023, fueled by average daily unique paying users increasing from approximately 870,000 to approximately 1,143,000. DAUs reached 88.9 million in Q3 2024, with hours engaged of 17.4 billion.
Developer Exchange / Creator Economy
Developer exchange fees grew 36% YoY to $231.5 million in Q3 2024, reflecting increased amounts earned by developers and creators from the growth in bookings. Over 22,500 developers and creators were qualified for and registered in the Developer Exchange Program as of September 30, 2024. The company stated a major goal is to increase developer and creator earnings over the next few years through new earning methods and efficiencies.
“Over the next few years, a major goal is to increase our developer and creator earnings (i) by creating new earnings methods and enhancing existing ones and (ii) through efficiencies realized in other areas of our business, while maintaining reasonable margins.”
Advertising
Roblox disclosed that bookings include an "insignificant amount from advertising and licensing arrangements" and that it plans to "invest in and expand our advertising business for the foreseeable future." The company also noted it may not be able to implement an advertising model compliant with regulations in all jurisdictions. Advertising revenue is not separately quantified but is referenced as a strategic growth initiative.
“We plan to invest in and expand our advertising business for the foreseeable future.”
Infrastructure and Trust & Safety
Infrastructure and trust & safety expenses grew 12% YoY to $244.6 million in Q3 2024, driven by $17.9 million of accelerated depreciation on certain software licenses and higher data center and technical infrastructure expenses. Moderation and customer support costs decreased by $7.8 million due to internal efficiency gains and automation from AI-driven tools. The company noted continued investment in AI and automation to increase the accuracy and efficiency of safety moderation.
“We have been investing in AI and automation to increase the accuracy and efficiency of our safety moderation and customer support related efforts, which has increased the quality of our safety and civility systems and led to a decrease in safety moderation and customer support costs in recent periods.”
International Operations
Revenue outside the U.S. and Canada grew as a share of total revenue, with Europe contributing 18%, Asia-Pacific 10%, and Rest of World 8% in Q3 2024. Approximately 78% of DAUs came from outside the U.S. and Canada region. The company noted that international expansion remains a critical element of its strategy, though ABPDAU may be negatively impacted as growth expands into developing countries with weaker consumer discretionary spending.
“As we continue to expand internationally, including into developing countries where consumer discretionary spending is relatively weak, while our DAUs increase, the growth rate of our bookings could decelerate due to weaker spending by users from those regions.”