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GameStop Fires Its CEO, Names Ryan Cohen Executive Chairman

2023-06-08 04:48
GameStop Corp. fired Matt Furlong, its chief executive officer of the past two years, and said Chairman Ryan
GameStop Fires Its CEO, Names Ryan Cohen Executive Chairman

GameStop Corp. fired Matt Furlong, its chief executive officer of the past two years, and said Chairman Ryan Cohen will take on a new executive role.

Cohen’s responsibilities as executive chairman of the video-game chain will include management oversight and capital allocation, the company said Wednesday in a statement.

The money-losing retailer also reported fiscal first-quarter sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates. Revenue in the period ended April 29 fell to $1.24 billion, missing estimates of $1.34 billion. The loss in the quarter narrowed to 14 cents and was smaller than the 17 cents analysts projected.

Shares of GameStop fell more than 20% to $20.80 in extended trading after the announcements.

GameStop has struggled to adapt to the increasing share of game sales conducted online and away from stores.

Furlong delivered a profitable holiday quarter for the company, in part due to job cuts and store closings. He said at the time that GameStop would become a much healthier business.

Cohen, the chain’s largest shareholder with 12% of the stock, commented about Furlong’s firing on Twitter.

Cohen is the founder of Chewy.com. Despite a historic runup in GameStop shares in 2021, he has failed to capitalize on interest in the brand. Management has unsuccessfully experimented with Web3 and a variety of business models for its brick-and-mortar stores.

(Updates with financial results, Cohen tweet.)