Yahoo Finance GameStop climbs as 1Q profit tops Street's view
GameStop rises as 1Q profit beats Street, helped by shopper demand for Xbox One, PlayStation 4
NEW YORK (AP) -- GameStop's stock rose Friday as the video game retailer's first-quarter profit beat analysts' expectations, helped by demand for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
On Thursday GameStop reported earnings of 59 cents per share on revenue of $2 billion for the quarter that ended on May 3. Analysts surveyed by FactSet predicted earnings of 57 cents per share on revenue of $2.02 billion.
Shoppers' demand for Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4 consoles helped GameStop's sales rise 7 percent from the year before.
"Since the launch of Xbox One and PS4 in November last year, (GameStop) has been a key destination for these next-gen consoles as well as next-gen software," Arvind Bhatia of Sterne, Agee & Leach said in a client note.
On the software side, the video game "Watch Dogs," available next week, is the highest pre-ordered next-generation console game the company has had, said Bob Puzon, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop.
Shares of GameStop Corp. added $1.76, or 4.8 percent, to $38.64 in Friday morning trading. The shares are still off about 21 percent in 2014.
