Published - June 8th, 2023 @4:05 PM (CET)

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CEO Departure Spurs GameStop's Stock Decline

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GameStop, the renowned video game retailer, saw a plummet of almost 20% in its value on Thursday, marking its steepest decline in two years. This unexpected drop came after CEO Matt Furlong's departure, leading to heightened skepticism about the company's ongoing struggle. Furlong, a former executive at Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), was explicitly chosen to steer GameStop's digital transition.

New Management and Market Value Concerns

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Ryan Cohen, the top shareholder, assumed the role of executive chairman. His earlier promise of digitally transforming the company fueled its popularity among meme-stock traders. However, GameStop (NYSE:GME) is now expected to lose half its 2023 gains, equivalent to a $1.6 billion drop in market value.

Consistent Management Change and Lack of Strategic Vision

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"As the only consistent aspect in recent years has been a change in management, forming an opinion becomes challenging without an earnings call, clear investor communication, or a stable strategic vision," commented Andrew Uerkwitz from Jefferies. GameStop has seen five CEOs and three CFOs in the last five years, adding to the ongoing turmoil.

Stock Price Decouples from Fundamentals

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GameStop's massive pandemic-era rally was propelled by a collective of Reddit traders, causing several brokerages to declare a disconnect between the company's stock price and its fundamentals. Uerkwitz is one of the few analysts who still cover the firm following this rally. The shares have fallen by nearly 80% from their 2021 peak of $120.75 during the meme-stock frenzy.

High-Level Departures and Challenges in Digital Transition

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Despite Ryan Cohen's commitment to turning GameStop into the Amazon of videogame stores, the company has seen numerous high-level departures, including members from the Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) co-founder's close circle. The company, which predominantly operates physical stores, announced its fourth consecutive quarterly revenue decline and a greater-than-anticipated loss on Wednesday.

A Grim Future Predicted

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Michael Pachter from Wedbush Securities held a grim outlook on GameStop's future. "GameStop is on a downfall," he said. "The uncertain future, coupled with Furlong's abrupt dismissal, will make it challenging for Cohen to find a competent replacement."

Fiscal Q1 Results and After-Market Trading Dip

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On Wednesday, GameStop decided to end Matt Furlong's tenure as CEO and installed Ryan Cohen as the executive chairman. This coincided with the announcement of the fiscal first-quarter results that did not meet Wall Street's expectations. Post the report, GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) witnessed a 17% dip in after-market trading.

Exploring New Frontiers: Crypto and NFTs

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The company revealed a Q1 loss of $0.14 on revenue of $1.24 billion, falling short of the anticipated $0.12 per share on revenue of $1.36B. In contrast, Selling, General, and Administrative expenses constituted 27.9% of the net sales, dropping from 32.8% during the same period last year.
Renowned as one of the initial "meme stocks," GameStop has begun exploring cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as a part of its strategic shift.

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