GameStop shares fell in extended trading Thursday after the video game retailer reported an unexpected loss during the holiday quarter.
Yet the company said it’s strengthening relationships with gaming brands and looking for new ways to make money — including plans to launch a new marketplace for non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, by the end of April.
GameStop was an early target in the meme stock frenzy and has gotten a fresh slate of leaders who want to transform the brick-and-mortar chain into an e-commerce player. Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen was tapped to lead the company’s turnaround as chairman of the board. He hired former Amazon executives, Matthew Furlong, and Mike Recupero, as CEO and COO, respectively.
In the most recent quarter, the company said, it made progress toward its digital goals.
GameStop said it struck deals and grew relationships with brands including Alienware, Corsair, Lenovo and other PC gaming companies. The company also launched a redesigned app and hired dozens of people with experience in e-commerce, operations and blockchain gaming.
GameStop said its subscription service, PowerUp Rewards Pro, grew by 32% on a year-over-year basis. Total membership is now about 5.8 million, the company said in a news release.
Those moves, however, have yet to translate into profits. In the three-month period ended Jan. 29, total revenue grew to $2.25 billion, but the company reported a net loss of $147.5 million, or $1.94 per share. That’s compared with a profit of $80.5 million, or $1.19 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted loss per share for the fourth quarter was $1.86.
The retailer hasn’t provided a financial outlook since the pandemic began in March 2020. It has also declined to take questions from analysts on the company’s earnings calls over the past year, including during its investor call Thursday.
GameStop’s shares have swung wildly over the past year. Shares hit a 52-week low on Monday of $77.58 — less than one-fourth of the stock’s value last June.
As of Thursday’s close, GameStop shares are down about 41% so far this year. Shares rose about 1% on Thursday to close at $87.70. The company’s market value is nearly $7 billion.
Read GameStop’s press release here.
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