To The Moon

Unity Software Inc. shares surged in the extended session Thursday after the gaming-engine company's earnings and revenue topped Wall Street expectations.

Unity (U) shares rallied 14% after hours, following a 9.3% drop in the regular session to close at $92.54.

Unity, which competes with Epic Games Inc.'s Unreal Engine, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $162.1 million, or 56 cents a share, compared with a loss of $83.4 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The adjusted loss, which excludes stock-based compensation expenses and other items, was 5 cents a share, compared with a loss of 10 cents a share in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose to $315.9 million from $220.3 million in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of 7 cents a share on revenue of $295.5 million, based on Unity's forecast of $285 million to $290 million in revenue.

For the year, Unity reported revenue of $1.11 billion, up from $772.4 million in the previous year. Analysts had forecast full-year revenue of $1.09 billion, after Unity raised its revenue outlook for 2021 again to between $1.08 billion and $1.09 billion for the year, following another hike in August.

"We believe that the transition from linear 2D to interactive real-time 3D, presents a massive growth opportunity for the next decades," Unity Chief Executive John Riccitiello said in a statement. "These are strong tailwinds that help us drive growth for years to come."

Unity forecast first-quarter revenue of $315 million to $320 million, and full-year revenue between $1.49 billion and $1.51 billion for the year.

Analysts estimate a loss of 6 cents a share on revenue of $317.5 million for the first quarter, and a loss of 14 cents a share on revenue of $1.43 billion for the year.

"We are encouraged by our performance in 2021 with strong results across Create and Operate Solutions," said Luis Visoso, Unity's chief financial officer, in a statement. "The business momentum coupled with the quality of our innovation plans gives us confidence to guide to a revenue growth range of 34% to 36% in 2022 as we continue to improve margins."

Last earnings season, the company's quarterly report was eclipsed by the announcement it would buy Peter Jackson's Weta Digital for $1.6 billion.