(Reuters) – GameStop Corp, the video game retailer at the center of this year’s Reddit-driven trading frenzy, fell short of holiday-quarter revenue estimates on Tuesday, squeezed by pandemic-led store closures and as more gamers drifted online.
Net sales fell to $2.12 billion in the fourth quarter, the ninth straight quarter of declines. Analysts’ on average had expected $2.21 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
GameStop’s shares have skyrocketed this year as amateur traders bet against Wall Street hedge funds that had shorted its shares, driving the company’s valuation to as high as $33.68 billion, more than Best Buy. The stock has become one of the hottest and most visible “meme stocks” followed on social media.
The results come as top shareholder Ryan Cohen, the billionaire co-founder of online pet supplies retailer Chewy, tries to transition the company into an ecommerce business that can take on big-box retailers such as Target and Walmart, as well as technology firms such as Microsoft Corp and Sony Corp.
(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
