GameStop's Q4 Profit Rises On E-Commerce
NEW YORK (AP) - Video game retailer GameStop Corp. said Thursday its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 10 percent on rising revenue, driven by new e-commerce and digital offerings.
The company's earnings guidance for the first quarter beat Wall Street expectations although its forecast for the full year suggested it could fall short of what analysts expect.
Its shares rose 62 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $21.73 in midday trading.
For the quarter ended Jan. 29, net income attributable to the company was $237.8 million, or $1.56 per share, up from $215.9 million, or $1.29 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose to $3.69 billion from $3.52 billion a year ago. In addition to new developments in e-commerce and digital offerings, GameStop said revenue was driven by growth in its PowerUp Rewards loyalty program.
The earnings matched analysts' expectations, according to a survey by FactSet, while revenue was slightly below estimates of $3.71 billion.
For all of 2010, the Grapevine, Texas company reported net income of $408 million, or $2.65 per share, compared with $377.3 million, or $2.25 per share, in fiscal 2009. Revenue increased to $9.47 billion from $9.08 billion in 2009.
The company expects revenue to rise between 6 and 8 percent for both the first quarter and full year. It predicts earnings of 53 cents to 55 cents a share for the first quarter and between $2.82 and $2.92 per share for all of fiscal 2011.
Analysts expect earnings of 51 cents a share for the first quarter and $2.92 a share for the year.
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