Source: GameStop.
Shares of GameStop (GME 2.56%) temporarily rose more than 7% in after-hours trading, as the video gaming retailer delivered an earnings surprise in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014.
GameStop's sales rose 7% year over year, stopping right at analysts' $2.0 billion consensus estimate. On the bottom line, adjusted earnings climber 28% higher, and the $0.59 earnings result per diluted share exceeded Wall Street's $0.57 projection. Comparable same-store sales increased by 5.8% year over year.
Looking ahead to the second quarter, GameStop expects strongly positive same-store sales improvements over the year-ago period. Earnings guidance for this period was in line with analyst estimates.
For the full year, the company maintained its existing earnings guidance range, stretching from $3.40 to $3.70 per share. The midpoint of this range sits below the current Street view.
As a growth driver for this period and future guidance, management pointed to strong demand for the new generation of gaming consoles. GameStop's sales of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles in the first six months since their respective product launches have more than doubled the initial six-month sales of PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
"The next-gen console business is meeting our targets, our digital properties continue to grow and our new tech brands segment is positively contributing to our profitability," said GameStop CEO Paul Raines in a prepared statement.
