Sales and Losses at GameStop: A 29% Decline and $32 Million Shortfall in the First Quarter

• The video game retailer experienced a 29% decrease in net sales from the previous year, reporting $881.8 million in sales for the period.
• The sales decline was more severe than the two Wall Street analysts covering the stock had anticipated.

Despite the surge in trading excitement caused by the meme trader "Roaring Kitty," the video game retailer's first-quarter results remained bleak, showing no signs of an operational turnaround.

On Friday, the video game retailer reported net sales of $881.8 million for the period, which is a 29% decrease from the previous year's $1.237 billion. This decline was steeper than the two Wall Street analysts covering the stock had predicted, with their estimates ranging from $900 million to $1.09 billion per FactSet.

In the most recent quarter, GameStop incurred a loss of $32.3 million, which was a smaller amount compared to the $50.5 million loss experienced in the previous year.

The company's first quarter results were unexpectedly released earlier than expected, and will be the subject of a YouTube livestream by Keith Gill, better known as "Roaring Kitty" later Friday.

Despite poor operating results, shares were up 21% in premarket trading in anticipation of Gill's livestream, which starts at noon ET. Gill may discuss his significant stake during the livestream.

Since Gill returned to posting, GameStop has experienced significant growth, with its stock up over 271% quarter to date.