GameStop Reports Huge Q3 Earnings Miss, Guidance Cut

GameStop Corp. GME shares are falling following a massive third-quarter earnings miss.

Adjusted earnings came in at a loss of 49 cents per share, missing estimates by 60 cents. Sales came in at $1.439 billion, missing estimates by $181 million. This is a 30% decrease over sales of $2.084 billion the same period last year.

The company also cut 2019 adjusted earnings guidance from $1.15-$1.30 to 10-20 cents, and expects comps to be down in the high-teen percent range.

"Our third quarter results continue to reflect the prevailing industry trends, most notably the unprecedented decline in new hardware sales seen across the market as the current generation of gaming consoles reach the end of their lifecycle and consumers delay their spending in anticipation of new hardware releases," said George Sherman, GameStop CEO. "With console makers set to introduce new and innovative gaming consoles late next year, we anticipate this trend to continue until the fourth quarter of 2020.

"Since July, we have repurchased more than one-third of our outstanding shares, underscoring our continued conviction in the long-term value proposition of GameStop, our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives and deliver positive cash flows, as well as our commitment of returning capital to shareholders."

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The Numbers

• New hardware sales decreased 45.8%
• New software sales decreased 32.6%
• Accessories sales decreased 13.4%
• Collectibles sales increased 4.3%

GameStop's stock traded down 20% to $5.23 per share in Tuesday's after-hours session. The stock closed the regular session at $6.51 per share.

Photo credit: BentleyMall (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons