GameStop
GameStop
Source: GameStop

GameStop is continuing its unusual, no-nonsense approach to earnings season.

The Texas-based specialty retailer known for its namesake video game business reported that its second quarter sales dipped around 4% to $1.136 billion this year, down from $1.183 billion in Q2 2021. As it’s done in recent quarters under the leadership of CEO Matt Furlong and Chairman Ryan Cohen, the company issued a bare-bones press release devoid of the typical PR fluff known to accompany such things.

On a lean, shockingly-short earnings call that lasted less than nine minutes, Furlong provided a high-level update on the business while acknowledging the work that’s been done to strengthen the company’s operations.

“When our board began turning over early last year, GameStop was saddled with significant debt, decaying systems, limited employee depth, and a host of other issues,” Furlong said. “This is why we spent the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022 making up for years of underinvestment in modernizing the business. The upshot is that we now have a more diversified product catalog, strengthened fulfillment network, improved tech stack and e-commerce presence, and a fortified corporate infrastructure.”

Related: Adventure Media & Events Promotes James Zahn to Editor-in-Chief of ‘The Toy Book’

GameStop divides its current business into three primary sectors: Hardware and Accessories, Software, and Collectibles.

Of the three, collectibles is showing growth with Q2 sales growing to $223.2 million versus $177.2 million during the same period last year. Furlong says that the company is looking to grow its collectibles business in the long term as it seeks to further diversify beyond video games and into new initiatives like NFTs and Web3 projects.

If this sounds familiar, it’s likely due to GameStop’s previous efforts in the collectibles space. The company previously purchased the ThinkGeek brand and experimented with an increased collectibles mix — which even included comic books and graphic novels at one point — a few years back.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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