The shares of GameStop Corp. they were not settled during Tuesday’s extended session as the video game retailer at the center of the so-called meme-stock phenomenon said it had laid the groundwork for its “transformation” and reported lower adjusted gains of expected in the fourth quarter and sales.
GameStop GME,
shares initially rose more than 8% after the report, but reduced gains later and fell 3%. The retailer said it earned $ 80.5 million ($ 1.19 per share) in the quarter, compared to 32 cents a share of earnings in the previous year.
Adjusted for single items, GameStop earned $ 90.7 million, or $ 1.34 per share, compared to $ 1.27 per share a year ago.
Sales fell to $ 2.122 billion, compared to $ 2.19 billion in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2019, reflecting pandemic-related store closures, the company said.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected the video game retailer to report adjusted earnings of $ 1.35 per share in sales of $ 2221 million.
GameStop said in-store sales rose 6.5% in the quarter, with online sales up 175% in the quarter and 191% in 2020. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected sales in the same stores increased 4.7% in the quarter.
The company said it “strengthened” its balance sheet and ended the year with $ 635 million in cash, “laying the groundwork for the transformation.”
In a separate press release, GameStop said it had appointed Jenna Owens as chief operating officer, with a start date of Monday, March 29th. Owens was director and distribution manager of Amazon.com Inc. AMZN,
The company also named Neda Pacifico, who was an executive at Chewy Inc. CHWY,
as senior vice president of e-commerce. Pacifico also begins Monday.
Ryan Cohen, co-founder of Chewy and two of his allies, joined the GameStop board earlier this year, prompting hopes that he would lead a review.
GameStop shares are often cited as one of the meme actions that have skyrocketed in recent months thanks to the frantic impulses of Reddit social media comments and posts.
See also: GameStop: What’s the Funniest in the Basics, Ask Reddit Marketers at the Emoji Rocket Launcher
GameStop shares have gained more than 800% in the last three months, compared to gains of about 7% in the SP&S 500 index.