• March 18, 2010

GameStop Corp. says its fourth-quarter results came in better than initially forecast, and that while comparable-store sales decreased 7.9%, total sales squeaked out a 0.9% gain to $3.52 billion, in comparison to $3.49 billion in the prior-year quarter. Net earnings, however, fell 7.1% to $215.9 million, as compared to net earnings of $232.3 million in the same period a year ago.

"GameStop delivered its second highest earnings year ever in fiscal 2009, in spite of the weak worldwide economic environment," says Daniel DeMatteo, CEO, in the Grapevine, Tex.-based company's release. "We saw global market share growth as new software sales increased 1.2%."

The company says it plans to use its "buy-sell-trade" model to boost market share in the year ahead, and predicts total sales growth of between 4 and 6%, a comparable-store sales gain of between 0 and 2%, and that earnings will increase between 14% and 18%.--Sarah Mahoney