Video game retail chain GameStop on Tuesday reported its earnings for the second fiscal quarter of 2019, and the results were bleak.
The company saw a decrease in global sales of over 14 percent, coming in at $1.3 billion total for the period. Meanwhile, GameStop’s GAAP net income was a loss of $415.3 million, a significantly larger downturn year-over-year from 2018, which also reported a loss of $24.9 million over the same fiscal quarter.
GameStop is projecting a “decline in the low-teens” for comparable store sales overall in 2019.
The company’s current fiscal woes are no new surprise. In August, GameStop Corp laid off 120 employees, roughly 14 percent of the company’s total associate base at its headquarters in Grapevine, Texas, as well as some other offices in various areas. One such subsidiary affected by the layoffs was Game Informer magazine, which parted ways with a number of writers and editors at the publication.
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In an effort to right the ship, GameStop CEO George Sherman, who took over the position in April, detailed a “strategic plan” anchored on four core tenets in its filing on Tuesday: “Optimizing the core business by driving efficiency and effectiveness, creating the social and cultural hub of gaming within each GameStop, building compelling digital capabilities and transforming our vendor and partner relationships for an evolving video game industry.”
Added Sherman: “This is a compelling new strategic vision for the company, and we’ve already started to execute against all four pillars. We also remain committed to returning capital to shareholders and balancing that opportunity against the need to maintain a strong balance sheet to properly run our business and invest in responsible growth.”
Shares in GameStop Corp. took a major dive in after-markets trading following the company’s latest filing, down over 18 percent to less than $4.30 a share.
