GameStop announced this Wednesday the dismissal of its CEO, Matt Furlong, unable to revive the business of the video game store chain after two years at the helm. The news has not been well received by investors, triggering a sale of shares that has plunged the value by 20% after the market closed.
The position already has a substitute. It will be the largest shareholder and current president, Ryan Cohen, although the day-to-day will fall on Mark Robinson, the new CEO. GameStop has had trouble adjusting to the growing proportion of game sales in the online channel, outside of its stores. Annual sales have gone from a peak of 9,360 million dollars -8,700 million euros- to 5,930 million dollars -5,530 million euros- last year.
The company presented figures that disappointed the market, with sales up to April of 1,240 million dollars -1,160 million euros-, below the 1,340 million expected by analysts. In any case, the quarter closed with benefits, largely due to job cuts and store closures.
GameStop was one of the icons of the Reddit phenomenon and meme actions, which at the beginning of 2021 triggered the price of all kinds of businesses in difficulty to make short investors lose money. Cohen has been unable to capitalize on that interest in the company.
GameStop titles are trading today at 21 dollars, a quarter of the 81 dollars in the midst of a whirlwind of purchases by retail investors. Those days shot up the value by 1,800% in just a few days, to then sink it. From the historical maximum, more than 70% is left.
