GameStop's Short 8-Minute Call

Photo by Clay Banks / Unsplash

Today is Thursday, September 9, 2021.

GameStop Drops After Short 8-Minute Earnings Call

Shares of GameStop (NYSE: GME) tumbled over 7% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported a wider net loss and followed it up with a short 8-minute earnings call.

Net Loss: GameStop achieved a loss of 85 cents per share. While this is better than the $1.71 loss per share last year, analysts were expecting the company to post a loss of about 67 cents per share.

Short Call: GameStop’s earnings, the first to feature new CEO Matt Furlong, was only 8 minutes long and it didn’t include a question-and-answer session with analysts. Furlong offered no guidance and did not discuss new steps that the company will take in the future.

The Good: GameStop expanded its fulfillment network in the quarter and it has no long-term debt other than a loan associated with the French government’s pandemic response.

The Bad: The U.S. Securities has also requested additional documents for a prior probe, according to CNBC.

Partnership: Shortly before the earnings release, journalist Liz Claman reported that fellow meme stock AMC (NYSE: AMC) is in contact with GameStop on a potential partnership. Shares of AMC were down 2% in after-hours trading.

Final Thoughts: GameStop’s transformation into e-commerce and hardware will be the key that determines the future of the company.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Affirm (Nasdaq: AFRM), Dave & Buster’s (Nasdaq: PLAY), Academy Sports & Outdoors (Nasdaq: ASO), Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ), ABM Industries (NYSE: ABM),  A-Mark Precious Metals (Nasdaq: AMRK).

Notable IPOs Today: n/a.

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Social Media Gateways (Wefunder).

Notable Economic Events Today: Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m.), Crude Oil Inventories (11:00 a.m.).

Should Investors Buy Physical Gold?

Gold is one of the most popular alternative investments, but is it worth buying physical gold?

Hedge It: Investors like gold because it is seen as a hedge against inflation and a hedge against stock market risk.

Let’s Get Physical: Owning physical gold, including gold coins and gold bullion, has its advantages. It is a tangible asset that is easy to sell. And you can buy it confidently.

Far From Perfect: However, owning physical gold comes with challenges, including secure storage. That’s why some investors opt to invest in gold funds where they get exposure to the physical asset without the same risks.

Final Thoughts: The price of gold had fluctuated in the past decade and seems to rise when economic conditions are questionable.

Algorand Price Rises Thanks to El Salvador

As El Salvador’s national cryptocurrency adoption saga continues, blockchain protocol Algorand seems to be benefiting in a big way.

The Announcement: Crypto firm Koibanx announced that it will use Algorand as an underlining technology for its crypto wallet for citizens of El Salvador. This occurred days before El Salvador formally adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.

Price Watch: As Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies suffered big declines Tuesday that coincided with El Salvador’s adoption, investors took notice of Algorand. The price of Alogrand was up 40% between Tuesday and Wednesday. In the past month, the price of Algorand has more than doubled.

Interesting: Algorand holds the distinction of being the first pure proof of stage blockchain to be publicly available.

Final Thoughts: For investors searching for the next big crypto, Alogrand holds some promise. However, it’s still a young blockchain.

Trends to Watch

Accusations Fly: Coinbase Says SEC Is Investigating Its Crypto Lending Program (The Wall Street Journal)

Next Country for Bitcoin: Panama unveils bill to make Bitcoin legal tender (CNET)

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