CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday defined why he is bullish on Take-Two Interactive, saying it’s set to dominate the online game house now that its prime competitor goes non-public.
“This was an industry with three major players, but now, with Activision gone and EA going private, Take-Two’s now the only major publicly-traded American video game company that’s a pure play,” Cramer mentioned. “I think this is huge. Not only were some very sophisticated investors willing to pay a premium for EA, but Take-Two has real scarcity value now.”
Take-Two is understood for quite a lot of well-liked online game collection, specifically the Grand Theft Auto franchise. The firm is gearing up for a May 2026 release of “Grand Theft Auto VI,” the most recent iteration of the collection, which players have been anticipating for greater than a decade. Its predecessor, “Grand Theft Auto V,” is among the best-selling video video games ever, having bought greater than 200 million copies since it got here out in 2013.
Take-Two’s inventory has climbed over the previous few months, and shares are at present up 39.6% year-to-date.
Last week, the corporate’s peer Electronic Arts announced it could be acquired by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners in a deal price $55 billion. The take-private deal would be the largest leveraged buyout in Wall Street historical past. Cramer famous that Electronic Arts’ takeover comes two years after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, one other main American online game writer.
According to Cramer, those that wish to put money into a conventional online game firm now have to enter the Japanese market or “bet on Take-Two.” He additionally mentioned that whereas Microsoft and Sony have giant gaming divisions, most of their gross sales come from different companies.
Cramer additionally pointed to a number of elements of Take-Two’s enterprise he finds spectacular, together with outcomes from its most up-to-date quarter. The firm beat Wall Street’s estimates and raised its full-year forecast for web bookings. Take-Two mentioned new participant accounts for GTA Online have grown greater than 50% year-over-year, Cramer famous. He additionally mentioned the corporate has different profitable franchises past GTA, together with sports activities recreation NBA 2K. The 2025 iteration of the sport has already bought greater than 11.5 million models, the corporate mentioned, and day by day lively customers climbed 30% year-over-year. While most of Take-Two’s video games are performed on Playstation, Xbox and PC, Cramer famous its cell enterprise is rising properly.
“GTA VI” is prone to be successful, Cramer continued, even when the discharge date is delayed. If the sport is delayed, and the inventory takes successful, he instructed buyers use the decline as a shopping for alternative.
“Just keep in mind, if you’re taking the plunge into Take-Two here, you have to be able to stomach any delays to ‘GTA VI,'” he mentioned. “In fact, you should expect delays — video games aren’t like movies, which come out on a regular schedule.”
Take-Two didn’t instantly reply to request for remark.
