March 24 (Reuters) – GameStop reported a 14% drop in fourth-quarter revenue on Tuesday, a sign that its struggling brick-and-mortar business continues to face immense pressure from the video game industry’s shift to digital downloads and weaker consumer demand.
Grapevine, Texas-based GameStop has long struggled to adapt to the rapidly changing gaming industry as consumer preferences shift away from physical game purchases toward digital downloads, game streaming and online shopping.
Major publishers are increasingly prioritizing digital sales and subscription services, bypassing physical retail channels entirely.
Total revenue for the holiday quarter ended January 31 came in at $1.10 billion, compared with $1.28 billion a year ago.
Under CEO Ryan Cohen’s leadership, GameStop has focused on cutting costs and streamlining operations to ensure the company’s profitability.
The CEO has said GameStop has shifted its strategy from reliance on hardware and software to a “significant” focus on trading cards and collectibles.
It posted selling, general and administrative expenses of $241.5 million for the fourth quarter, a decrease from the $282.5 million it reported in the same period last year.
GameStop said it has signed an agreement related to a potential sale of its operations in France to a buyer, in a filing on Tuesday.
The “meme stock” darling in January revealed a roughly $35 billion performance-based pay plan for Cohen, which would grant him options to purchase over 171.5 million GameStop shares. Shareholders are set to vote on the package at a special meeting expected in March or April.
GameStop posted a fall in hardware and accessories sales, which includes new and pre-owned video games, to $535.6 million for the fourth quarter from $725.8 million in the year-ago period.
It reported net income of $127.9 million for the quarter, compared with $131.3 million a year ago.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona)
