Can GameStop Stock Rise From the Ashes?
Under the stewardship of CEO Ryan Cohen, GameStop (NYSE: GME) is looking to rise from the ashes. Cohen himself recently said the company was a "piece of crap" when he took over in the fall of 2023. At the time, the company was losing money and facing structural challenges. At its core, GameStop is still a global retailer of new and pre-owned video games and video game hardware, operating thousands of stores across North America, Europe, and Australia. The video game industry, meanwhile, has seen a shift from physical games to digital downloads and subscription models. There also hasn't been a major new gaming console release to drum up consumer demand since 2020.The bright spot for GameStop has been its foray into the collectibles market, which it started to pursue around 2016. While the collectibles business has had its ups and downs over the years, the company seems to have found its niche with the buying and selling of graded trading cards for popular games such as Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic: The Gathering. Last fall, it also became an authorized dealer for grading company PSA, allowing collectors to drop off cards at GameStop locations to be sent in for grading. Continue reading
Under the stewardship of CEO Ryan Cohen, GameStop (NYSE: GME) is looking to rise from the ashes. Cohen himself recently said the company was a "piece of crap" when he took over in the fall of 2023.
At the time, the company was losing money and facing structural challenges. At its core, GameStop is still a global retailer of new and pre-owned video games and video game hardware, operating thousands of stores across North America, Europe, and Australia. The video game industry, meanwhile, has seen a shift from physical games to digital downloads and subscription models. There also hasn't been a major new gaming console release to drum up consumer demand since 2020.
The bright spot for GameStop has been its foray into the collectibles market, which it started to pursue around 2016. While the collectibles business has had its ups and downs over the years, the company seems to have found its niche with the buying and selling of graded trading cards for popular games such as Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic: The Gathering. Last fall, it also became an authorized dealer for grading company PSA, allowing collectors to drop off cards at GameStop locations to be sent in for grading.
