Roblox Shares Drop 21% After Decrease in Spending per User

NEW YORK, July 31, 2026, 07:03 EDT

Shares of Roblox were last seen at $38.35, falling 21.2% in premarket U.S. trading.
The number of monthly payers in Q2 increased by 15%, while the average bookings per payer dropped 6%.
The midpoint for Q3 bookings falls 8.8% short of LSEG’s projection. Free cash flow could become negative.

Shares of Roblox Corporation NYSE:RBLX dropped 21.2% to $38.35 ahead of Friday’s opening bell, after the company issued a weak bookings outlook that highlighted decreased spending from individual users. U.S. markets open for regular trading at 9:30 a.m. EDT.

The main concern for investors lies below the surface of the user numbers. The number of monthly paying users increased by 15% in the second quarter. However, bookings per paying user declined by 6%, and average spending per daily user decreased by 2%.

The action seemed limited to the company. Shares of Unity Software Inc. NYSE:U and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. NASDAQ:TTWO showed little change in premarket trading.

Premarket overview

Company	Price	Premarket move	Quote time
Roblox Corporation NYSE:RBLX	$38.35	down 21.20%	06:58 EDT
Unity Software Inc. NYSE:U	$33.19	down 0.45%	07:00 EDT
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. NASDAQ:TTWO	$248.32	up 0.36%	07:00 EDT

The data shown are premarket quotes with a delay.

Roblox reported overall growth in Q2, although unit-level expansion slowed considerably.

Q2 monetization compared to scale

Metric	Q2 2025	Q2 2026	Year-on-year
Revenue	$1.081 billion	$1.469 billion	up 36%
Bookings	$1.438 billion	$1.557 billion	up 8%
Daily active users	112 million	123 million	up 10%
Hours engaged	27 billion	29 billion	up 5%
Monthly unique payers	23.4 million	27.0 million	up 15%
Bookings per daily user	$12.86	$12.66	down 2%
Bookings per monthly payer	$20.48	$19.25	down 6%

Bookings, which log virtual-currency sales ahead of when revenue is officially recorded, increased by 8%, compared to a 36% gain in revenue. Typically, bookings are recognized as revenue over a projected 27-month period for each payer.

Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra said, “Monetization weakness is likely to continue.” Roblox’s recommendation engine has directed younger players to games that generate lower revenue per hour. Reuters

Geography is partly behind the dilution, as the fastest growth occurred beyond Roblox’s top spending market.

Bookings and expenditure by region

Region	Bookings growth	Spending per daily user	Spending growth
United States and Canada	+1%	$38.63	-5%
Europe	+18%	$13.35	+16%
Asia-Pacific	+14%	$4.90	-1%
Rest of world	+31%	$4.88	+14%

U.S. and Canadian bookings saw minimal growth, while regions with much lower overall spending experienced quicker expansion. This shift broadens Roblox’s global presence, but dampens overall monetization for the company.

The third-quarter outlook continues that trend. User figures could rebound, but cash flow may slow.

Q3 forecast compared to Q2

Metric	Q2 2026 reported	Q3 2026 outlook	Q3 comparison
Revenue	$1.469 billion	$1.413 billion-$1.490 billion	+4% to +10% versus prior year
Bookings	$1.557 billion	$1.576 billion-$1.653 billion	-18% to -14% versus prior year
Bookings midpoint	—	$1.615 billion	8.8% below LSEG projection
Operating cash flow	$318 million	$110 million-$175 million	—
Free cash flow	$294 million	-$60 million to +$5 million	—

LSEG’s bookings forecast stood at $1.77 billion.

Management anticipates daily user numbers will increase again in Q3, while the monetization softness seen in Q2 is set to continue. During the second quarter, daily user figures declined by 7% on a sequential basis.

Roblox shifted to providing only quarterly guidance ahead of schedule by one quarter. The midpoint for its free-cash-flow range now stands at negative $27.5 million. This suggests a sequential decrease of around $322 million from Q2, according to company data.

Older users present the most obvious area for growth. In the second quarter, adults accounted for 27% of verified daily users. According to company figures, adults in the U.S. generate over 50% more revenue than users under 18.

Management is shifting from concentrated content towards a wider range. The leading 10 games accounted for around 20% of hours played, a decline from 30% three years ago. Titles beyond this group saw a 25% increase in hours and Robux spending rose by over 20%.

Risks: The updated algorithm has the potential to enhance retention earlier than anticipated, boosting expenditure. Despite this, ongoing safety measures, less engaging viral games, and significant artificial-intelligence spending may prolong the period of reduced cash flow.

TS2 TECH • EXTENDED COVERAGE

Further analysis

Editorial insight

Why is Roblox stock falling so sharply today?

RBLX closed July 30 at $48.67, then traded near $38.40 at 7:00 a.m. ET. That represented a premarket decline of about 21.1%. Investors reacted mainly to weak third-quarter bookings guidance and reduced annual visibility. Premarket liquidity is thinner, so the regular-session move could differ. Public

How weak is Roblox’s third-quarter forecast?

Roblox expects bookings between $1.576 billion and $1.653 billion. That represents a 14% to 18% year-over-year decline. The midpoint is about 9% below LSEG’s $1.77 billion estimate. Revenue guidance permits only 4% to 10% growth. Free cash flow could range from negative $60 million to positive $5 million. Management expects second-quarter monetization weakness to continue.

Did the second quarter itself justify the selloff?

Second-quarter revenue rose 36% to $1.469 billion. Bookings increased 8% to $1.557 billion, reaching guidance’s lower end. Net loss narrowed to $185 million from $280 million. Adjusted EBITDA climbed to $152 million from $18 million. The quarter itself improved materially. The selloff reflects the outlook.

Are user and engagement trends still healthy?

Daily active users reached 123 million, up 10% year over year. They fell 7% sequentially from 132 million during the first quarter. Hours engaged rose 5% to 29 billion. Hours per user therefore declined roughly 5% year over year. Monthly unique payers still increased 15% to 27 million. Growth remains positive, but momentum softened.

How serious is Roblox’s monetization problem?

Average bookings per daily user fell 2% to $12.66. The United States and Canada figure dropped 5% to $38.63. Regional bookings there grew only 1% during the quarter. European bookings increased 18%. APAC rose 14%, while other markets advanced 31%. North America still supplied roughly 54% of total bookings.

Are safety and discovery changes temporary headwinds?

Management blamed lower-monetizing games, algorithm changes and disabled cross-experience passes. Recommendations now optimize 28-day retention, compared with seven days previously. Roblox reports early retention gains, but provides no quantified revenue payback. Age checks covered 57% of global daily users by quarter-end. Safety measures also added signup friction and restricted some features. Age statistics use evolving methods and extrapolation, reducing their precision. A recovery is possible, but remains unproven. Q4 Capital

Is cash flow and profitability truly improving?

Operating cash flow rose 60% to $318 million. Free cash flow increased 66% to $294 million. However, stock-based compensation reached $282 million during the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA also excluded $34 million of legal settlement expenses. Third-quarter free cash flow could fall to negative $60 million. Cash generation improved, but quarterly stability remains uncertain.

Does Roblox’s balance sheet protect shareholders?

Cash and investments totaled $6.1 billion, against approximately $1.0 billion debt. Roblox repurchased 8.2 million shares for roughly $380 million. The board authorized repurchases of up to $3 billion. Management initially intended to purchase $1 billion over twelve months. Yet fully diluted shares still increased 2% to 752 million. Buybacks soften dilution. They have not eliminated it.

What does withdrawing full-year guidance imply?

Roblox stopped annual guidance one quarter earlier than previously planned. Its former bookings forecast ranged from $7.33 billion to $7.60 billion. Using the third-quarter midpoint, nine-month bookings would total about $4.90 billion. Reaching the old range requires $2.43 billion to $2.70 billion during Q4. That requires approximately 9% to 21% growth from Q4 2025. Possible, yes. Management no longer endorses that target.

Is RBLX cheap near $38.40?

Using 714 million shares, $38.40 implies roughly $27.4 billion equity value. Net cash reduces estimated enterprise value to about $22.3 billion. That equals approximately 3.0 times trailing four-quarter bookings. It also equals roughly 16.7 times trailing free cash flow. Near-zero third-quarter cash guidance makes that second ratio backward-looking. Lower valuation helps. It does not remove execution risk. Public

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Mateusz Kaczmarek is a financial and technology journalist at TS2.tech, covering stocks, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and global market developments. A graduate of the Poznań University of Economics and Business, he previously worked in financial analysis before moving into business journalism. His reporting focuses on technology companies, market trends and the forces shaping global investment markets. Follow Mateusz Kaczmarek on Google News.