Things are still good for GameStop ... we think

by Justin McElroy { Apr 17th 2009 at 4:00PM }

We can remember snoozing through ECON 101, confident that we'd never need any of that garbage. No sir, we were going to write about video games. We didn't care about "earnings" and "projections." It's in times like these we see how horrifyingly wrong we were.

"GameStop is reaffirming its first quarter comparable store sales guidance of flat to +2% and earnings per share guidance of $0.40 to $0.42. Full year comparable store sales guidance remains +4% to +6% and full year earnings guidance is still expected to increase between +18% and +22%."

That's the release, but we have absolutely no idea what that means. We see some pluses, that's what you want, right? We mean ... they're better than minuses.

Tags: earnings, finance, gamestop

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Latin_Trident @ Apr 17th 2009 4:04PM

That just indicates that Gamestop is planning and hoping to stay afloat. Projections are never accurate. Than again, neither are launch dates!

linkbob @ Apr 17th 2009 4:05PM

GameStop sucks! i have worked there for the past 3 years and they have cut everyones hours to next to nothing...they must be cutting back some reason dont ya think? anyway, i wont be working there for much longer

Saria the Cat @ Apr 17th 2009 4:56PM

GameStop made me hate all retail forever after working there.

Eh @ Apr 17th 2009 4:06PM

No, minuses are better.

Dirty @ Apr 17th 2009 4:07PM

DEATH TO GAMESTOP!!!

Markez @ Apr 17th 2009 4:08PM

WUT THE BANDICOOT!?

Mazoku @ Apr 17th 2009 4:32PM

Looking at Dirty's avatar while reading his post just makes me XD so much.

Saria the Cat @ Apr 17th 2009 4:57PM

It's Dirty's patented auto response to any GameStop-related article.

It makes me heart him. The lolrus doesn't hurt matters, either.

Artemis Gone @ Apr 17th 2009 4:28PM

Yes, Gamestop is here to stay. These numbers aren't just mere projections... they are pretty much where the company sits right now. The increases are over last years sales numbers. They're not as significant as what the company has seen before, but the fact of the matter is sales are still up over last year.

As far as them cutting back hours, they always do that this time of year, Linkbob. You say you worked there for 3 years, then you should know that first and second quarter of the fiscal year are always much slower and the company cuts back on any hours they can.

I'm not defending Gamestop by any means. Yeah, I've worked for them for about 3 years now myself, but I'm on my way out shortly. It's actually a good job to have right now since the company is still making decent money. Job security is what a lot of people need right now.

Josh Riesen @ Apr 19th 2009 8:52AM

First off, +1,000,000 points for the name, Mr. Gone. ;) Second, I see where you're coming from. I run a store in a mall food court, and I frequent the Gamestop located there. One thing I know is that when the rest of the mall is dead, that place still has people in it, no matter what.

It's a stated fact that during this recession, sales of home entertainment products have jumped. Consumer electronics are still reasonably priced for the most part, and it take's people's minds of what's going on around us. It's a recipe for success. Honestly though, Gamestop will soon lose to other buy/sell/trade retailers due to their exorbitant used prices for in-demand games. if it were a gutted "new" copy, I could get behind a $5 cut. But when it comes to a game that has been opened, played, used, and likely abused a bit, too-- I think that warrants a lower price.

$55 for a used copy of Fable 2 is just silly. They can afford to be greedy since they're pretty much the only game in town, but that doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do, nor that the rubes will fall for it forever.

cronos1212 @ Apr 17th 2009 4:37PM

With the recent NPD Figures indicating such down trends in Console sales, if Gamestop doesn't get their wish and PS3 and Wii do not see price cuts, I think those yearly earnings estimates will shrink a bit.

Since the first quarter hasn't ended yet for retailers, I wonder if those 1st Qtr earning estimates will be the same as well. I suppose it'll all depend on the Comp. Sales due to whatever released last april...

But yes, the Pluses are a positive sign (well, positive for gamestop at least)

BigD145 @ Apr 17th 2009 4:47PM

Shares are an arbitrary scale.

Jason @ Apr 17th 2009 10:01PM

McElroy your a blog posting genuis lol, that's a bit much but its ok lol.

Evil Adam @ Apr 21st 2009 3:23PM

thanks for the non-news

rTwelve @ Apr 21st 2009 4:20PM

Thanks for the non-comment.

wb @ Apr 22nd 2009 3:12AM

If you are going to report on something, like GameStop's stagnant growth, how about actually doing your due diligence and figure out what you are trying to report. This isn't news or journalism. Take some pride in what you do or move aside and let someone else do your job. And if this 'article' is any indication of the quality of the rest of your writing, finding someone more qualified would hardly be considered a chore.