GameStop (GME) Stock Slips as Brick-and-Mortar Drag Pulls Q4 Revenue Down 14%

TLDR

• Revenue fell 14% to $1.10 billion in Q4, down from $1.28 billion a year ago.
• Hardware and accessories sales dropped to $535.6 million from $725.8 million.
• Collectibles now make up about a third of total sales, up from 21% a year prior.
• Net income slipped to $127.9 million from $131.3 million.
• Bitcoin holdings lost over $150 million in value between Q3 and Q4.

GameStop (GME) stock edged down 0.96% following its Q4 earnings release.

GameStop posted fourth-quarter revenue of $1.10 billion, a 14% drop from $1.28 billion in the same period a year earlier. The results, released Tuesday, reflect continued pressure on the company’s physical retail model.

Hardware and accessories — which includes new and pre-owned video games — fell sharply, dropping to $535.6 million from $725.8 million the prior year. That’s a decline of around $190 million in a single category.

GameStop Corp., GME

Collectibles was the one bright spot. That segment now makes up roughly a third of total revenue, up from 21% a year ago. CEO Ryan Cohen has publicly pivoted the company’s strategy toward trading cards and collectibles, stepping back from its traditional hardware and software focus.

Net income came in at $127.9 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with $131.3 million, or 29 cents per share, a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were 49 cents.

Cost Cuts Cushion the Bottom Line

On the cost side, selling, general and administrative expenses fell to $241.5 million from $282.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The reduction helped cushion the impact of lower revenue on profitability.

GameStop also disclosed it has signed an agreement related to a potential sale of its French operations, though details on terms were not provided.

The company’s Bitcoin position added another wrinkle. GameStop bought 4,710 Bitcoin last year, and those holdings were valued at $368.4 million at the end of Q4 — down from $519.4 million at the close of Q3. That’s a drop of roughly $151 million in one quarter.

Cohen’s Pay Package and Acquisition Plans

The CEO’s compensation plan made headlines in January when GameStop revealed a roughly $35 billion performance-based pay package for Cohen. The deal would grant him options to buy more than 171.5 million GameStop shares. Shareholders are expected to vote on it at a special meeting in March or April.

Cohen told the Wall Street Journal in January that he was exploring a major acquisition of a publicly traded company, with interest specifically in consumer products or retail. No deal has been announced.

GameStop has also been working to reduce its physical footprint. Major game publishers have increasingly shifted to digital sales and subscription services, bypassing brick-and-mortar retail altogether.

The company reported adjusted EPS of 49 cents for the quarter.

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