GameStop's stock lost almost 6 percent today even though it saw greater sales in the 2010 holiday season than it did a year ago. That wasn't enough, apparently.
GameStop sent out an exultant news release earlier today, touting $3 billion in sales for the season, up nearly 6 percent. But in America, forget revenue, forget even profitability, growth is the only thing people care about, and this wasn't enough for some.
The reality of why GameStop's stock got dumped on might be a little more subtle. One analyst told Gamasutra he saw the drop as representative of profit-taking - i.e. bettors who bought in before the holiday season and have fled now that the slower winter quarter is on us. GameStop's share price did go up 13 percent in the last month.
Others saw slower growth than they'd expected in GameStop's calling card - the used business. Even though it was up, it was up only 1.7 percent over the previous year. Either way, some investors didn't get their figgy pudding, so evidently the whole Christmas shopping season was a failure, the end.
Analysts, Market Disappointed With GameStop's Holiday Results [Gamasutra]