GameStop

Grapevine, Texas -- GameStop Corp. said Friday its board has approved buying back up to $500 million worth of the company's stock and bonds over the next 18 months.

The retailer said the new $500 million allotment will replace a previous $300 million already set aside for buybacks, of which $138.4 million was left to spend. Stock buybacks reduce the number of outstanding shares, which boosts per-share earnings and expands the size if current shareholders' stakes.

Grapevine, Texas -- GameStop Corp. reported Thursday that net earnings for the third quarter increased 4.8% to $54.7 million, from $52.2 million in the prior year quarter.

Total sales increased 3.5% to $1.90 billion.

U.S. segment same-store sales were 5.3%, while total company same-store sales increased 1.1%.

Year-to-date, GameStop has opened 156 net new stores: 89 in the United States; 47 in Europe; eight in Canada; and 12 in Australia/New Zealand. The video game retailer currently operates 6,606 stores in 17 countries.