GameStop posts higher 1st-quarter net income on solid game sales but outlook drags shares

GameStop posts higher 1Q net income, sales

GRAPEVINE, Texas — GameStop Corp., the world’s largest video game retailer, said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter net income climbed, boosted by strong sales of popular games like “Battlefield Bad Company 2″ and “God of War III.”

But the company’s outlook for the current quarter fell shy of Wall Street’s expectations and shares retreated in premarket trading.

For the three months ended May 1, GameStop earned $75.2 million, or 48 cents per share, up 7 percent from $70.4 million, or 42 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $2.08 billion from $1.98 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 47 cents per share on revenue of $2.03 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

GameStop said its sales at stores open at least a year — a key measure of retailer performance — declined 1.6 percent during the quarter due to lower console prices and supply constraints.

For the second quarter, company expects earnings of 25 cents to 27 cents per share. Analysts are expecting a profit of 29 cents per share.

For the third quarter, it expects a profit of 38 cents to 41 cents per share. Analysts are predicting a profit of 34 cents a share

The company reaffirmed its full year guidance for earnings of $2.58 per share to $2.68 per share. Wall Street is expecting a profit of $2.63 per share for the fiscal year ending January 2011.

Shares fell 76 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $20.51 in premarket trading.