Hindenburg Research has taken a short position in Roblox, accusing the company of inflating key metrics, including daily active users (DAUs). The short seller claims Roblox conflates DAUs with platform visits, potentially including bots and alternate accounts, inflating user numbers by 25-42%. Hindenburg also alleges that engagement hours are overstated by over 100%.
Following the report, Roblox shares dropped 9.2%. Hindenburg suggests that bots from various countries are exploiting the platform to farm in-game goods. Roblox, which earns revenue through in-game purchases, raised its annual bookings forecast in August, reporting 79.5 million DAUs in Q2 2023.