GameStop’s (GME) shares are down 8% after the video game retailer reported a surprise loss for the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company reported an adjusted loss of $1.86 U.S. a share, while analysts had projected a profit of $0.84 U.S. Net sales rose 6.2% to $2.25 billion U.S. in the three months ended January 29, the video game retailer said after markets closed. Analysts had projected $2.23 billion U.S. of net sales.
Separately, GameStop said it would launch a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) later this year.
GameStop has suffered from a combination of supply chain issues and a bricks-and-mortar retail operation that many analysts say is outdated. Over the last several years, the company has churned through a variety of business concepts with mixed reactions from investors and customers.
The market has been waiting to hear more about GameStop’s plans for its NFT marketplace initiative after reports of the project surfaced earlier this year. The company last month announced a partnership with Australian gaming start-up Immutable X to establish a fund to provide grants to NFT content creators.
In its latest earnings announcement, GameStop said it would provide Immutable with as much as $150 million U.S. in IMX tokens if it achieves certain milestones.
Chairman Ryan Cohen joined GameStop’s board last year with a vision to revive growth, which has slowed as gamers shift from buying physical discs to digital downloads. The company was further battered by the pandemic, which shuttered many of its retail outlets.
GameStop’s shares have swung wildly over the past year. They gained almost 700% in 2021 after being caught in a short squeeze executed by retail traders but are down 41% this year, closing at $87.70 U.S. in New York trading yesterday (March 17).