GameStop sales fell during its all-important holiday quarter — the first business update from the company since the Reddit-fueled stock mania.
Why it matters: For all the talk about GameStop's stock, there's been less about the company itself — which has struggled to adapt to the more digital video game landscape.
Details: GameStop also said it's been "evaluating" since January (when the stock price surge started) whether to raise money this year through a stock sale.
- It's one way the company could take advantage of the hype around its stock.
- In a regulatory filing, it said it could use proceeds to "fund the acceleration of its future transformation."
- Executives did not directly address the stock run-up.
By the numbers: GameStop closed out 2020 with another year of falling revenue, illustrating the brick-and-mortar store's longstanding challenges made worse by the pandemic.
- Sales dropped for the ninth straight quarter.
- The company said it shuttered almost 700 stores in the past year.
- The pandemic did help fuel e-commerce sales: they made up over one-third of total sales (compared to 12% this time last year, before the pandemic hit).
The big picture: GameStop in recent weeks has announced a slate of executive switch-ups, amid a turnaround effort to better compete digitally led by activist investor Ryan Cohen.
- Alongside the earnings report, the company named former Amazon and Google executive Jenna Owners as its new chief operating officer.
Worth noting: Most companies hold question-and-answer sessions with Wall Street analysts on earnings calls. GameStop, with an earnings call at capacity, notably did not.
- The stock whipsawed after the earnings report, before fallingas much as 10%.
- At the height of the stock surge, GameStop's stock hovered near $480 per share. It's fallen back down to earth slightly — $180, but still up 870% this year.
