GameStop unexpectedly released first-quarter results and announced a share-sale plan Friday as the recent re-emergence of meme-stock influencer “Roaring Kitty” reignites interest in the stock.
The videogame retailer, which was expected to report its quarterly results on Tuesday, narrowed its loss while sales dropped more than 40%—results that were in line with preliminary figures released last month.
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It also announced a plan to offer 75 million shares in a so-called “at-the-market” sale, meaning they would be sold at the market price. That followed the announcement last month of the sale of 45 million shares, generating $933.4 million.
Meme-stock mania has been revived in recent weeks after Keith Gill, the headband-wearing investor known as “Roaring Kitty,” resurfaced on social media after a nearly three-year hiatus. More recently he has said he has a new, big position in the stock. On Friday he held his first livestream since 2021, on his “Roaring Kitty” YouTube account.
During the 48-minute livestream, Gill said he is working alone, without any institutional backers. He reiterated his support for Chief Executive Ryan Cohen and said he believes GameStop is in the middle of its turnaround plan. He also shared a screenshot of his brokerage account that showed he hasn’t sold his giant position in the stock.
Gill said he believes GameStop will transform itself into a better business but admitted he isn’t clear how. “It becomes a bet on the management and of course, Ryan f—ing Cohen,” he said. “We’ve seen enough from him to think he’s got a good head on his shoulders.”
He also said he reserves the right to change his mind and warned viewers to make their own investment decisions: “None of this is advice.”
Shares in GameStop dropped sharply on the stock-sale plans and were down 40% at the end of Gill’s livestream. The stock has been halted 16 times on Friday.
Gill made his riches during the 2021 meme-stock frenzy, when hordes of investors piled into shares of GameStop, a left-for-dead bricks-and-mortar videogame retailer, as well as others.
The retailer, based in Grapevine, Texas, has struggled to boost revenue in recent years because many of its console- and computer-gaming customers are now downloading games over the internet, instead of buying the hard copies that the retailer specializes in selling. Further, more people have been playing games on smartphones and tablets, and publishers have been releasing more free games that generate revenue from sales of virtual goods.
GameStop turned its first annual profit in several years in 2023 after cost cuts that included multiple rounds of layoffs, store closures and reduced spending on marketing.
It has also undergone major leadership changes in recent years. In late 2021 and 2022, the company hired dozens of e-commerce executives and greatly expanded its inventory in a bid to bolster online sales. But the strategy fell flat, and the company pivoted back to focusing on its bricks-and-mortar business in 2023.
In September last year, GameStop’s board named Cohen as its chief executive. He has since gutted the company’s C-suite and is essentially the only executive in charge.
GameStop said Friday it logged a loss of $32.3 million, or 11 cents a share, for the quarter ended May 4, compared with a loss of $50.5 million, or 17 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted losses were 12 cents a share. Sales declined to $881.8 million from $1.24 billion.
It added that it wouldn’t hold an investor call.
Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com and Sarah E. Needleman at Sarah.Needleman@wsj.com