GameStop Q2 2013 earnings down, slightly better than expected

GameStop recorded notable drops in year-over-year earnings during the second quarter of its 2013 fiscal year, but the results were slightly better than the company expected, it announced today.

Total global sales for GameStop came in at $1.38 billion for the quarter ending Aug. 3, a 10.7 percent year-over-year decrease; the company's same-store sales were also down by 10.7 percent. Under GameStop's previously announced fiscal guidance, it had expected a sales drop of between 12.5 and 16 percent. Sales of new games decreased by 9.3 percent, but because that drop outperformed the video game retail market during the second quarter, GameStop's market share went up.

In last year's second quarter, GameStop tallied net earnings of $21 million; this time around, net earnings came in at $10.5 million, a 50 percent drop. Even so, GameStop's diluted earnings per share exceeded the top of its guidance. The retail chain was helped by the continually expanding mobile and digital sectors: Mobile sales grew 124.1 percent to $55.1 million, while digital sales were up 17.9 percent to $158 million.

"Through two quarters, the year has played out as expected," said Paul Raines, GameStop's CEO, in an investor release today. "During this console transition period, our financial results have been supported by the continued growth of our emerging businesses."

GameStop expects it will turn things around in the third quarter, with guidance for same-store sales listed at a year-over-year increase of between 11 and 15 percent. The company will provide more detail in an investor call later today.