If you buy games for new consoles, you are probably buying them at GameStop.
The gaming-specific retailer reported massive revenue for its Q2 today, and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were both big drivers of that success. The company generated $1.73 billion during the three months ending July 31, which is 25.1 percent increase compared to $1.38 billion in the same period in 2013. The company isn’t just selling a lot of games — it’s actually selling most of them. GameStop confirmed that its market share for software sales on Xbox One and PS4 are actually more than 50 percent of all games sold for those systems. Consumer appetite for experiences on those consoles remains high, which puts GameStop in an incredibly good position to continue generating profit from the multibillion-dollar gaming industry well into the future.
“Our hardware and software market share continues to expand and is now at an all time high as we go into the critical holiday season,” GameStop president Tony Bartel said in a conference call with investors. “We continue to sell over one half of all PS4 and Xbox One titles.”
GameStop has clearly established itself with consumers as the top spot to pick up gaming hardware and software.
“The new console cycle is driving momentum,” Bartel said. “We’ve now had four consecutive quarters of positive comparisons year-over-year, and we expect that trend to continue.”
Looking ahead, GameStop isn’t even all that concerned about the rest of 2014. Bartel acknowledged that big-name games like Evolve, Batman: Arkham Knight, and Battlefield: Hardline slipped out of the year, but the company says they still see a lot that will excite gamers. Bartel specifically highlighted Madden NFL 15, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
GameStop also boasted about the growth of its digital business, which is an area that a lot of companies are making gains in. The retailer claims it is “on offense” when it comes to digital and that it is working to use its stores to sell currency cards and codes for downloadable content to its customers.
“Microsoft recently announced that over 40 percent of its digital receipts are sold at retail, and we believe we represent most of those sales,” said Bartel. “We are dominant — especially at launch — at selling digital content.
While GameStop’s Q2 was massive, the company says that it still expects to generate 80 percent of its profits over the next six months.
For the year, the company is maintaining its earnings guidance of $3.40 per share to $3.70.