Electronic Arts Inc. EA
EA's $55 billion take-private by PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners closed on August 4, 2026 at $210 per share in cash, and the stock's last close of $209.70 as of August 10 leaves a trivial 30-cent spread with no investment thesis remaining. Multiple insiders including the CFO and CLO sold their entire holdings at $210 on the closing date, confirming the transaction has settled.
There is no fundamental case to make — the company is effectively private and the shares will delist — so new capital has no reason to enter and existing holders are simply awaiting final settlement.
What could go wrong
- Delisting timing. Shares may delist at any point following the August 4, 2026 close, potentially trapping positions in broker transfer processes.
- Settlement execution. Although the deal has closed, administrative delays in cash distribution could leave holders illiquid for an uncertain period.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: Business Wire press release 2026-08-04 · FMP technicals as_of 2026-08-10 · Insider Form 4 transactions 2026-08-04 · CNBC 2026-08-05. Orin's read on EA; not advice.
Twelve months actual closes to 2026-08-10 · actual filings
50-day average 200-day average · volume below
On file
All EA filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Capital Management | $3.2B | 0.1% of fund |
| State Street | $2.9B | 0.1% of fund |
| Pentwater Capital Management | $2.8B | 16.9% of fund |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $2.3B | 0.1% of fund |
| Invesco | $1.8B | 0.1% of fund |
| Geode Capital Management | $1.5B | 0.1% of fund |
100 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 342 Form 4 filings, net −$145.7M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 8 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about EA
Orin answers questions about EA from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →Where it trades
| Metric | Now | Own median | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 48.4× | 41.6× | 53.3× |
| EV/EBITDA | 29.8× | 18.8× | — |
| P/S | 6.75× | 5.07× | — |
| P/B | 7.5× | 4.8× | — |
Its P/E sits 80th percentile of its own last 5 years (+0.71σ from its own mean).
9.5%
free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $2.3B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.
What Wall Street published
$173
$118 – $210 · −18% against today's price
- 29 buy or overweight
- 37 hold
- 0 underweight or sell
The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.
Against the companies it is compared to
| Company | Market cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross | Net | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAElectronic Arts Inc. | $53B | 48.4× | 29.8× | 79.9% | 13.8% | 17% |
| CLSCelestica Inc. | $42B | 37.3× | 27.9× | 12.0% | 7.2% | 51% |
| FICOFair Isaac Corporation | $19B | 25.3× | 19.2× | 85.1% | 34.1% | -33% |
| GRMNGarmin Ltd. | $55B | 29.5× | 22.1× | 60.1% | 24.5% | 21% |
| MPWRMonolithic Power Systems, Inc. | $67B | 82.7× | 64.8× | 55.2% | 24.4% | 22% |
| NXPINXP Semiconductors N.V. | $59B | 20.0× | 13.7× | 55.9% | 22.6% | 28% |
| STXSeagate Technology Holdings plc | $207B | 63.5× | 49.2× | 45.6% | 26.1% | 348% |
| TTWOTake-Two Interactive Software, Inc. | $39B | — | 40.7× | 56.0% | -4.8% | -9% |
| WDCWestern Digital Corporation | $163B | 17.4× | 18.7× | 48.9% | 72.9% | 119% |
| XYZBlock, Inc. | $44B | 131.0× | 37.4× | 46.4% | 1.4% | 2% |
The median is of the 8 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 44.9% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.
What it has traded at
What its sector has traded at
Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.
Discounted cash flow
| Model | Fair value | Against | Computed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard DCF | $120 | $203.30 · −41% | 2026-06-10 |
| Levered DCF | $327 | $203.30 · +61% | 2026-06-10 |
The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.
Every estimate on one scale
The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.