No rebound for GameStop in Q3

GameStop Corp. got no relief in its third quarter with sales and earnings that fell well short of analysts’ expectations. Same-store sales plunged 23.2%.

The struggling retailer reported a third-quarter loss of $83.4 million, or $1.02 a share, in the quarter ended Nov.2, compared with a loss of $488.6 million, or $4.78 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted loss was 49 cents a share. Analysts had expected earnings of 11 cents.

Revenue plunged 25.7% to $1.44 billion as sales across nearly every product category declined. Analysts expected revenue of $1.62 billion. 

"Our third-quarter results continue to reflect the prevailing industry trends, most notably the unprecedented decline in new hardware sales seen across the market as the current generation of gaming consoles reach the end of their lifecycle and consumers delay their spending in anticipation of new hardware releases," stated George Sherman, CEO, GameStop. “With console makers set to introduce new and innovative gaming consoles late next year, we anticipate this trend to continue until the fourth quarter of 2020.”

Sherman added that, despite the current top-line trends, the company is making strong progress against “strategic initiatives as we transform GameStop for the future.”

“We remain on track to achieve our $200 million annualized operating profit improvement goal, by 2021 and we believe our strategic initiatives will enable to us to achieve our long-term growth and profit objectives as we fully leverage our unique leadership position and brand in the video game space,” he said. 

GameStop operates more than 5,600 stores across 14 countries.