GameStop Shares Plummet Despite Company Announcing It Will Launch an NFT Marketplace

Shares of GameStop were falling on Thursday as the company revealed it swung to a loss in the holiday quarter, despite a turnaround effort.

The stock fell about 8% in extended trading after the video game retailer reported the unexpected loss and declined to give an outlook for the future.

In the three-month period ended Jan. 29, total revenue grew to $2.25 billion, but the company reported a net loss of $147.5 million, or $1.94 per share. That’s compared with a profit of $80.5 million, or $1.19 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted loss per share for the fourth quarter was $1.86.

The company also said it will launch a marketplace for NFTs by the end of the second quarter.

GameStop said it’s making progress in other areas, too, such as launching a redesigned app, striking relationships with PC gaming brands and attracting new members to its rewards program.

CEO Matt Furlong said on the company’s earnings call that GameStop is still in the early days of turning itself back into a “customer-obsessed technology company.”

“It is important to stress the GameStop had become such a cyclical business and so capital starved that we have had to rebuild it from within,” said the CEO. “We’ve also had to change the way we assess revenue opportunities by starting to embrace, rather than run from, the new frontiers of gaming.”

Furlong said in the most recent quarter the company made progress toward its digital goals. It struck deals and grew relationships with PC gaming brands including Alienware, Corsair and Lenovo.

The company also launched a redesigned app and hired dozens of people with experience in e-commerce, operations and blockchain gaming.

The CEO said its membership program, PowerUp Rewards Pro, grew by 32% on a year-over-year basis and now has about 5.8 million members.

The company took a hit from both supply chain challenges and the omicron variant, Furlong said.

“We felt, and continue to feel, that investing in our customers and rebuilding brand loyalty right now is in the company’s best interest over the long term,” he said.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.