In early 2021, the stock market story changed forever. all thanks to reddit and gamestop. Seasoned veterans and numerous traders were beaten to a pulp by a group of redditors sitting behind their screens and furiously spoiling gamestop.
To his dismay, this changed the face of the stock market as we know it. furthermore, gamestop became known as the “original stock of memes“. So what is gamestop really, what happened in early 2021, and why, of all companies, did you get so excited about? stick to the screen and let our gamestop data draw an amazing picture for you.
Reading: Facts about gamestop
fascinating gamestop facts (editor’s choice):
- gamestop has over 4,800 stores.
- processes over 400,000 used video games per week before reselling them.
- as of the end of January 2022, gamestop’s revenue is 6.01 billion dollars.
- gary kusin and james mccurry founded gamestop in 1984.
- The company has approximately 12,000 full-time employees.
- A former Gamestop VP defrauded it of nearly $2 million.
- since 2017, gamestop has faced a significant drop in sales.
what is gamestop?
Until now you’ve never heard of gamestop or the whole reddit induced debacle? don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
1. gamestop specializes in the sale of video games and game consoles.
(source: international banker)
what does gamestop do? well, its name already gives the necessary clue to the answer: it is a video game retailer that mainly sells video games, as well as other gaming products and various consumer electronics.
2. gamestop processes more than 400,000 used video games each week before reselling them.
(source: mind silk)
These well-known facts about gamestop reveal that it is known for buying used games. however, did you know that these are not immediately placed on store shelves? first, they need to be tested inside the renovation facility, which means the team inspects them and makes sure they’re still playable. according to company data, that happens with almost half a million games per week. only after that will you see them hit the shelves.
3. gamestop cannot resell all used games they receive.
(source: ign)
The company’s renewal center has a lot of work on its hands. maybe a little too much. they get so many used games that they just throw some in the trash, even though many of them were in good shape. that is why consumers resorted to the so-called “dumpster diving”. swam through gamestop’s garbage, hoping to find products in good condition.
4. dumpster diving was so successful that gamestop issued the field destruction policy.
(source: ign)
Dumpster diving would require people to jump fences and naturally poke through someone else’s property. Not only was this illegal, but certain gamestop facts show that it also caused the company to lose money. in turn, they ordered their employees to damage the items before throwing them away. Despite that, however, there were reported cases of dumpster diving games in 2022. As they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
game crash history
During its 40 years of existence, gamestop has certainly been through hell and back. here are some highlights from his rocky road to where he is now.
5. Gamestop was founded in 1984 by Gary Kusin and James McCurry.
(source: zippia)
Before we go into more details, let’s first see who invented gamestop.
It was Kusin and McCurry, Harvard Business School attendees, who began this effort in 1984. First called Babbage’s, it attracted investors like Ross Perot; Fortunately, people believed in the potential of the company from the beginning.
6. The first babbage video game store was opened in dallas, texas.
(source: zippia)
It’s good to see that gamestop kept its Texan roots throughout. Although its headquarters are now in grapevine, texas, the first store was opened in dallas. north park center mall was where it all began.
7. babbage sold nintendo games in 1987.
(source: zippia)
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at that time, it focused on software for the nintendo entertainment system (nes). Like the Gamestop company, Babbage has always followed video game trends closely, something that has certainly paid off. sold games for the atari 2600 and sega systems. however, by 1991, the company’s sales consisted primarily of video games.
8. Babbage is named after Charles Babbage.
(source: zippia)
There are many interesting facts about the history of gamestop. for example, its predecessor, babbage’s, was named after a British scholar. some believe that he is the creator of the mechanical computer and would even go so far as to call him the “father of the computer”. he is also known for the differential motor . although, if the name still doesn’t ring a bell, don’t worry, it’s probably because he lived a long time ago.
9. he was swindled out of $2 million by a former VP of communications at gamestop from 2009 to 2011.
(source: fbi)
gamestop’s business is huge, so it’s no surprise that there are fraud attempts… even successful ones. frank olivera, former vice president of communications at gamestop, invoiced gamestop for two years from a bogus company. he also used a false identity to send fraudulent invoices to gamestop. In this way, Olivera withdrew $1,965,900 in almost two years. he was fired in 2011 by gamestop and sentenced to more than four years in prison.
stop game franchise
gamestop’s franchise is particularly popular as it has many stores offering good deals around the world. here’s a quick look at how it’s been doing from a financial standpoint.
10. gamestop was a fortune 500 company for 14 years in a row.
(source: fortune)
gamestop grew so much that it managed to become one of the 500 richest companies in the world.
but will gamestop be a fortune 500 company in 2022? that’s the best question, especially considering everything that’s happened. Believe it or not, even after the 2021 stock events, it is no longer part of this notorious list. The truth is that things are not what they used to be for the company, although it may be close to its former glory, but no one can say for sure.
11. since 2017, gamestop sales have decreased.
(source: in-game rant)
is gamestop dead? well, it’s a bad time to be a traditional video game retailer, even if it’s one of the biggest in the world. the ongoing pandemic and the popularization of online games are not doing you any favors. it got so bad that gamestop was looking for a company to buy it. in the end, even that intention was abandoned due to financial problems.
12. gamestop revenue in 2021 was $6.01 billion.
(source: the deep dive)
gamestop facts revealed this at the end of January 2022. It is still well below its 2015 revenue, for example, which was estimated at $9.37 billion. has been falling for a while, hitting a new low of $5.09 billion in 2020.
13. gamestop’s market cap is $9.4 billion.
(source: macrotrends)
short twitch still seems to be doing wonders for gamestop. Before all that, the cost of the Gamestop franchise was barely a billion dollars. however, it reached what would be its peak value on January 27, 2021: its market capitalization was $22.59 billion. Fortunately, with its $9.4 billion market cap, it’s still way above where it was before reddit’s turnaround.
14. gamestop has 12,000 full-time employees.
(source: macrotrends)
According to macro trends, the number of gamestop employees has been in steady decline since 2017. at that time, there were 23,000 employees, much more than the current 12,000. the largest recorded decline was from 2018 to 2019 when 6,000 people left the company…
15. gamestop has 4,816 stores in 14 countries.
(source: statistics)
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We know this is a great franchise, despite everything, but do you know how many stores gamestop has? The US may have the most, but not all Gamestop stores are located there.
there are also in australia, canada and europe. In the past, there were more than 5,500 stores and, although there is a decrease, the data on gamestop shows that the company still manages to get ahead.
16. gamestop performs background checks.
(source: felony registration center)
Many large companies require permission for a background check on their candidates. There are many reasons for this, the main one being the security of the company itself and its employees. gamestop definitely does a background check, but the number of factors that are taken into account depends on the state.
If you have a criminal record, you may not be accepted for a position. There were even cases of people being rejected for facial piercings. Unfortunately, there is simply not enough reliable information on this matter. nobody knows for sure what exactly is checked.
when was gamestop made public?
You’ve probably heard of the massive outrage a single subreddit has caused. but did you know how it was? If you wanted to know more about the gamestop short squeeze or its share price, you are in the right place.
17. gamestop was first made public in February 2002.
(source: funding universe)
After a failed initial public offering (IPO) attempt in 2001, gamestop actually went public in 2002. barnes & noble, the company that owned gamestop at the time, first wanted to do it on the nasdaq.
Finally listed on the new york stock exchange (nyse) in 2002. 20.8 million shares were sold at a price of $18 per share. even after the initial public offering, b&n owned the majority of the company – 67%, to be precise. speaking of which, do you know which company owns gamestop now?
18. fidelity investments owns the majority of the shares of gamestop.
(source: how I got the job)
And yet you only have a 13.31% stake there. there are so many companies that own gamestop shares now. what is really interesting is that many own more than 10% of them. this probably wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for the gamestop wallstreetbets phenomenon that happened on reddit.
19. gamestop’s short squeeze of stock breathed new life into the company… temporarily.
(source: fortune)
A subreddit called wallstreetbets attempted to popularize certain stocks primarily as a joke. gamestop was one of them. despite gamestop’s bleak track record, they found its stock undervalued. hype is a very powerful tool in the cutthroat world of stock trading, and this is great proof of that.
They hyped gamestop so much that it went “to the moon” as they say in business jargon. this is how gamestop became “the original meme stock”, paving the way for memes in the most unexpected places.
20. a gamestop share is worth $134.
(source: yahoo finance)
That’s what gamestop’s latest stock information suggests, though this number is subject to change. almost doubled in March 2020 after falling to $78. the highest value of all time remains that of January 2021, however, when it closed at $325.
summarize
When it comes to company stories, this one is really interesting. gamestop facts are a useful reminder for many things. First, the company doesn’t have many ways to accommodate the harsh digital world, so it’s falling behind significantly. as time passes, the need to follow current trends increases.
Furthermore, hype was always a huge driving force in the stock market, as exactly this stock demonstrates. Finally, there is always the possibility that there is gold even where there is garbage. So even if the company is losing money, whether it’s in the trash or in the store, you’ll almost find good deals at gamestop.
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