Roblox (RBLX) delivered a standout performance in Q1 2025, significantly surpassing its own guidance and prior-year benchmarks across virtually every key financial and user metric. Revenue rose 29% year-over-year to $1.04 billion, while bookings surged 31% to $1.21 billion, reflecting both strong engagement and improved monetization. The company also made strides in profitability, with the net loss narrowing to $(215.1) million, a meaningful improvement from $(270.6) million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $58.0 million, and operating cash flow jumped 86% to $443.9 million, or $413.9 million adjusted for a delayed developer payment. Free cash flow more than doubled to $426.5 million (or $396.5 million adjusted), showcasing the business’s growing cash-generating power.

On the user side, Roblox reached 97.8 million average daily active users (DAUs), up 26% YoY, with users aged 13 and older now making up 62% of the base following 36% growth in that segment. Engagement hit record levels, with 21.7 billion hours engaged, up 30% YoY, and teen users accounting for 64% of that time. The platform also saw a 29% increase in average monthly unique payers (20.2 million), with average bookings per payer and per DAU both rising modestly. Notably, average daily unique paying users grew to 1.22 million, a sharp rise from 914,000 in Q1 2024.

Creator earnings also hit new heights, with $281.6 million paid out via the Developer Exchange, up 39% YoY, putting Roblox on track for over $1 billion in creator payouts in 2025. Over 100 developers earned more than $1 million in the past year, and spending among mid-tier experiences (ranked 11–50) more than doubled, now driving nearly 40% of in-experience spending growth, up from just 5% last year. Robux spending in targeted genres like RPGs, sports, racing, and shooters jumped 69%, now comprising 20% of all Robux spend.

Roblox also demonstrated increasing operational efficiency. Personnel costs rose just 5% while dropping to 23% of revenue, and infrastructure and safety costs increased 8%, falling to 13% of revenue. These trends contributed to a 749 basis point improvement in margins, well ahead of expectations.

Strategic initiatives are gaining traction. Differential Robux pricing—offering better value on low-fee platforms—has begun to shift user behavior toward desktop and prepaid options, with early signs pointing to neutral to slightly accretive margins. A new price optimization tool and regional pricing capabilities are helping drive creator monetization, while AI-enhanced discovery is broadening content reach and accelerating bookings growth. Advertising is growing steadily, and integration with Google is underway, though it remains a small contributor for now.

Looking ahead, Roblox forecasts Q2 2025 revenue of $1.02–$1.045 billion and bookings of $1.165–$1.19 billion, representing 14–17% and 22–25% YoY growth, respectively. Full-year 2025 guidance calls for $4.29–$4.37 billion in revenue and $5.29–$5.36 billion in bookings, alongside $885–$930 million in free cash flow. While management expects margin improvements to continue, they anticipate a more modest pace as investments in growth and innovation ramp up.

CEO David Baszucki emphasized that the quarter's performance exceeded both short-term targets and long-term strategic goals, underscoring the strength of Roblox’s global expansion—particularly in APAC, Japan, and India—and its increasing appeal to older demographics. With a growing and increasingly monetized user base, expanding developer ecosystem, and accelerating innovation in AI and content delivery, Roblox remains firmly positioned to capture a greater share of the $180 billion global gaming market.