gamestop's record quarter is all collectibles, games barely matter now

GameStop dropped their Q2 earnings and the numbers are kind of funny if you remember when they were the place to buy games. Operating income hit $160.2 million, highest Q2 since they went public in 2002. Net income jumped to $298.7 million from $168.6 million last year. But the actual game side of the business is shrinking fast.

Collectibles brought in $356.3 million, up 57% from last year. That's 45.1% of their total net sales. Video games only did $263.2 million, down from $494.6 million a year ago when the Switch 2 launch gave them a boost. Pre-owned and refurbished stuff fell to $170.7 million from $250 million. Overall net sales dropped from $972.2 million to $790.2 million, and the stock took a hit after the report.

The article mentions GTA 6 not getting a physical disc, and normally you'd think that would hurt a game retailer. But CEO Ryan Cohen has been saying physical game sales are irrelevant to the company for a while now. He's talked about pushing into live commerce and even a marketplace for reselling digital gaming items. So they're not exactly panicking about a disc-less GTA 6.

I walked into a GameStop a few weeks ago and it was mostly Funko Pops, plushies, and t-shirts. The game section was one wall. This earnings report just confirms what anyone who's been in a store already knows. They're a collectibles shop that happens to sell some games.

Does anyone still buy physical games at GameStop, or is it all just merch now?

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Source: GameSpot · Curated content.