GameStop Stock Is Surging Wednesday: What's Going On?

GameStop Corp GME shares are trading higher Wednesday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings and announced the approval of Bitcoin BTC/USD as a treasury reserve asset. Here’s a look at what you need to know.

• Q4 Revenue: $1.283 billion, versus estimates of $1.48 billion

• Q4 Adjusted EPS: 30 cents, versus estimates of 8 cents

Total revenue was down approximately 28% year-over-year. Hardware and accessories revenue totaled $725.8 million in the quarter, Software revenue was $286.2 million and Collectibles revenue came in at $270.6 million.

GameStop reported net income of $131.3 million in the fourth quarter, up from $63.1 million in the prior year's quarter. The video game retailer ended the quarter with approximately $4.78 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

GameStop also announced its board unanimously approved an update to its investment policy to include Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. The company said it plans to use a portion of its cash or future debt and equity issuances to invest in Bitcoin.

“We have not set a maximum amount of Bitcoin we may accumulate, and may sell any Bitcoin we may acquire,” the company said in a filing.

Check This Out: Jim Cramer Applauds GameStop For Acting On His ‘Bitcoin Ploy,’ CEO Ryan Cohen Can’t Help But React

GameStop previously made a push into the crypto space with the launch of wallets that let users manage crypto and NFTs. The company closed down the offering in 2023 due to "regulatory uncertainty."

Continuing a trend from recent quarters, GameStop refrained from holding a conference call with investors to discuss its quarterly performance and outlook. The company noted that it plans to continue to focus on establishing omnichannel retail excellence, cost containment and increased efficiency and expanding its addressable market.

Following the print, Wedbush’s Michael Pachter called GameStop "a rich man's MicroStrategy” in response to the company’s pivot towards Bitcoin.

“If GameStop were to buy all Bitcoin with their $4.6 billion in cash and trade at two times, the stock would drop five bucks,” the analyst said.

GME Price Action: GameStop shares were up 11.4% at $28.30 at the time of publication Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Shutterstock.