GameStop Says It Not Only Sells Video Games, It Also “Grows” Into A Tech Company

GameStop (GME) apparently no longer sees itself as a retailer under the dual leadership of new chairman Ryan Cohen and CEO Matt Furlong, but rather a tech company worthy of maybe one day being in the same conversation as Apple ( AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL).

“GameStop has two long-term goals: delighting customers and delivering shareholder value. We are moving from a video game retailer to a technology company that connects customers with games, entertainment and a wide assortment of products.” GameStop said in a comment buried in its quarterly 10-Q filing with the SEC on Thursday.

The stock memes king didn’t expand too much on this interesting pivot of the business model, as Furlong didn’t ask any questions during his first earnings call as CEO and didn’t share any information regarding his plan to do so. ‘business. Traders subsequently sanctioned the stock up to 10% during Thursday’s session.

But GameStop pointed to some ongoing efforts in its aforementioned case. They understand:

• “To increase the size of our addressable market by expanding our product catalog across consumer electronics, collectibles, toys and other categories that represent natural extensions of our business.

• Develop fulfillment operations to improve the speed of delivery and service to our customers.

• Build a superior customer experience, including establishing a US-based customer service operation.

• Build technological capabilities, including investing in new systems, modernized e-commerce assets, and a broad and experienced talent base. “

Granted, GameStop had a lot in common in Q3 with some emerging tech companies in that it lost a ton of money again.

The company posted an adjusted loss per share of 76 cents versus a Wall Street estimate of 67 cents with revenue of $ 1.18 billion versus an expected $ 1.12 billion.

Sales increased 25.6% from a year ago driven by demand for new game consoles from Sony and Microsoft (MSFT). The company also pointed to the increased costs of transforming into a technology company as one of the culprits for the large loss.

The story continues

Now all eyes are on Cohen and Furlong for results of all kinds.

Whether GameStop wants to launch cloud services to compete with Amazon or transform into Best Buy is unclear. Uncertainty over what’s next is reflected in GameStop shares – the stock is down nearly 50% from its Jan.27 high of $ 347.51.

All Street could do is speculate on the way forward for GameStop given the limited information from management.

“We are closely monitoring two specific areas: infrastructure investments and clues as to the future scale of a digital business; and staff changes, as a signal of changes in strategic direction guided by a new board and CEO. With increased execution capacity and a larger national footprint, delivery speeds are expected to be faster and last mile costs lower.The product catalog continues to expand beyond traditional hardware and software – toys, sporting goods, cosplay / costumes, clothing, etc. GameStop CRM remains a valuable asset to unlock future value. As the fandom goes digital, we are also intrigued by GME’s potential role in the NFT development market, ”Jefferies analyst Stephanie Wissink speculated in a research note to clients.

Yahoo Finance Ines Ferre contributed to this story.

Brian Sozzi is an editor and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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