Start here if you're new
what it is
Snail makes and sells video games, with ARK doing most of the heavy lifting while newer titles try to matter.
how it gets paid
Last year Snail made $84M in revenue. ARK franchise was the main engine at $50M, or 60% of sales.
what just happened
The latest quarter showed $56M in revenue, but EPS stayed negative and reminded you how uneven this business still is.
At a glance
C+ balance sheet — struggling to keep the lights on
17.8x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
18.9% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$0.05 fy2024 eps est
$85M fy2024 rev est
xvary composite: 23/100 — weak
What they do
Snail makes and sells video games, with ARK doing most of the heavy lifting while newer titles try to matter.
This is not a broad moat. It is a franchise moat. You keep coming back if you already live inside ARK's world, and that existing audience helped support $84 million in annual revenue on just 149 employees. Premium games (full-price titles you buy upfront) → cash arrives title by title → so what: one loyal fan base can keep a microcap alive longer than the market expects.
How they make money
$84M
annual revenue
ARK franchise
$50M
+8.0%
Bellwright
$17M
+306.0%
Legacy and other titles
$17M
12.0%
The products that matter
medieval survival game
Bellwright
1M+ units sold on Steam
it sold over 1 million units on Steam. for a roughly $23M company, one title doing real numbers can change sentiment, revenue mix, and the quarter's entire conversation.
current hit
dinosaur survival franchise
ARK franchise
$26.5M deferred revenue
this is the clearest revenue bridge on the page: $26.5M is expected to be recognized within 12 months, tied to launches and content already sold. it gives you visibility on revenue timing, not proof of margin quality.
revenue visibility
indie publishing label
Wandering Wizard
no segment breakout shown
the page gives no separate revenue for this label. that tells you the practical truth: inside an $84M company, smaller titles matter only if one becomes big enough to move the consolidated numbers.
pipeline option
Key numbers
$0M
long-term debt
Long-term debt (borrowed money due later) → Snail has none → so what: one classic microcap blow-up risk is missing.
18.9%
return on capital
Return on capital (profit from money invested in the business) → 18.9% → so what: when Snail does invest, the business has shown it can earn decent returns.
5.0%
operating margin
Operating margin (profit after running the business) → 5.0% → so what: there is profit here, but barely enough to absorb a bad release cycle.
17.8x
trailing p/e
P/E (price compared with annual earnings) → 17.8x → so what: the stock is not priced like a disaster, which is awkward for a business this fragile.
Financial health
C+
strength
- balance sheet grade C+ — weak — may struggle to fund operations
- risk rank 5 — safer than 5% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $0M (0% of capital)
C+ — below average. watch for debt servicing and cash burn.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for SNAL right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
The latest quarter showed $56M in revenue, but EPS stayed negative and reminded you how uneven this business still is.
Revenue jumped 306% vs. prior year, likely driven by title launches and timing of game sales recognition. Gross margin was 22.8%, while the latest reported EPS was still negative at -$0.50.
$56M
revenue
$0.50
eps
22.8%
gross margin
the number that mattered
$56M matters because one quarter produced about 67% of the company's $84M annual revenue base, which tells you results are extremely lumpy.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is Bellwright and ARK revenue showing up without fixing Snail's loss structure.
med
chronic unprofitability
Snail generated $84M of revenue and still posted a -30.67% net margin with -$0.67 in trailing EPS. The business is proving it can sell games, not that it can earn attractive returns from them.
If this persists, each new launch has to do more than add revenue. It has to repair the entire earnings profile.
med
title concentration
Bellwright passed 1 million Steam unit sales and the ARK slate carries $26.5M of deferred revenue. That is good news, but it also shows how much of the current story sits on a short list of titles.
A weak release cycle or softer engagement would hit a $23M company much harder than it would hit a diversified publisher.
med
thin gross margins
A 22.8% gross margin is a narrow starting point for a publisher with volatile release timing. There is not much room for marketing misses, launch issues, or weak post-launch monetization.
When you start with about 23 cents of gross profit per revenue dollar, small execution misses can turn into large earnings damage fast.
The combined risk picture is blunt: $26.5M of future revenue visibility sits inside a business that still lost 30.67% on $84M of sales. The upside case needs better game economics, not just more launches.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
deferred revenue conversion
$26.5M is expected to be recognized within 12 months. If that shows up without a margin lift, the core problem is still there.
trend
Bellwright staying power
One million Steam unit sales got the market's attention. The next question is whether demand holds after the early launch wave fades.
calendar
next earnings report
The page points to April 1, 2026 with a $0.09 EPS forecast. That makes the next print a live test of whether the business is stabilizing or slipping again.
risk
gross margin lift
22.8% gross margin is not enough breathing room. If new titles do not push that number higher, revenue growth will keep looking better than earnings reality.
Analyst rankings
risk profile
high risk
risk rank 5 — significant risk of large drawdowns.
chart momentum
below average
momentum rank 4 — analysts see underperformance risk in the near term.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for SNAL is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$1
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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