U.S. stocks were in positive territory on Wednesday on the back of advances in the U.S. - China trade negotiations.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.15% to 26,218, the S&P 500 index rose 0.21% to 2,873 and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.60% to 7,896.
Shares of GameStop Corp. (GME, Financial) fell more than 3.5% on Wednesday after the company announced fourth-quarter 2018 results. Revenue declined 7.8% from the prior-year quarter to $3.06 billion, but fell $220 million short of expectations. Earnings of $1.60 per share beat estimates by 2 cents.
During the quarter, new hardware sales declined 9.8% as the increase in Nintendo Switch sales was offset by a decline in Xbox One X sales. New software sales decreased 7.8%, but accessories sales rose 18.8%. Pre-owned sales declined 21.3%, while digital receipts grew 4.7% to $432.5 million. Collectibles sales increased 3.1% to $268.8 million.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2019, the company expects total sales to decrease between 5% and 10%.
“As we think about 2019 and beyond, we recognize the challenges facing our pre-owned video game business and are prepared to address them as we continue to evolve our business model going forward," Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Rob Lloyd said. "Importantly, we will continue to leverage our powerful brand to drive growth and, with a new cost savings and profit improvement initiative in place, we will focus our efforts on driving profitability.”
Gainers
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD, Financial)
- Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT, Financial)
- Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL, Financial)
- CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF, Financial)
- Micron Technology Inc. (MU, Financial)
Losers
- Altria Group Inc. (MO, Financial)
- Cimarex Energy Co. (XEC, Financial)
- Apache Corp. (APA, Financial)
- Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL, Financial)
- Mattel Inc. (MAT, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.37%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.84%, Germany's Dax rose 1.70% and Spain's IBEX 35 climbed 1.33%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.97%, India’s BSE Sensex slid 0.46%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.22% and China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.24%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
