GameStop Misses Q4 Views, Shares Drop

Shares of

dropped over 4 percent in after-hours trading after the company reported downbeat results for the fourth quarter. The Grapevine, Texas-based company posted quarterly net income of $244.1 million, or $2.23 per share, compared to $220.5 million, or $1.89 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company's adjusted earnings rose to $2.15 per share from $1.90 per share. Its total global sales shrank 5.6 percent to $3.48 billion from $3.68 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $2.17 per share on revenue of $3.60 billion. Comparable store sales slipped 1.8 percent in the quarter. Non-GAAP digital receipts rose 41.4 percent to $368.8 million. During the quarter, GameStop repurchased 1.63 million shares at an average price of $37.83 per share. Rob Lloyd, chief financial officer, commented, "We remain committed to driving long-term shareholder value through our disciplined capital allocation program consisting of share repurchases and dividends. For fiscal 2015, based on the trends of 2014, specifically related to the decline in previous generation sales, we are projecting mid-single digit new software sales growth, which is reflected in our sales and EPS guidance. Additionally, we estimate that foreign currency exchange will have a negative impact of approximately $300 to $400 million on sales and $0.06 to $0.09 on full year EPS." For the first quarter, GameStop expects earnings of $0.53 to $0.60 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.66 per share. Gamestop expects FY15 earnings of $3.60 to $3.80 per share. GameStop shares fell 4.38 percent to $37.09 in after-hours trading. The average estimate of 27 analysts surveyed by Estimize was for earnings of $2.19 per share and revenue of $3.61 billion for the fourth quarter.