GameStop says firing CEO was a "risk" after reporting quarterly $14.7 million operating loss

GameStop has acknowledged its decision to oust former president and CEO Matthew Furlong could backfire.

The company fired Furlong "without cause" in June 2023 after recording a $50.5 million quarterly net loss. Board chairman Ryan Cohen was than tasked with leading the company as general manager.

In its latest fiscal report, GameStop said that move represents a long-term risk factor. "We may not successfully manage the transition associated with certain of our executive officers, which could have an adverse impact on us," it wrote.

"Leadership transitions can be inherently difficult to manage, and failure to timely or successfully implement transitions may cause disruption within the Company, including execution of our transformational plans," it added, echoing remarks made earlier this year. "This may adversely impact our financial performance and ability to meet operational goals and strategic plans, our ability to retain and hire other key members of management, and the market price of our Class A common stock."

The company's financial report for the third quarter ended October 28, 2023, shows that net sales decreased by 9.1 percent year-over-year to $1.08 billion.

"Net sales in our Australia, United States, and Canada segments decreased by 16.8 percent, 13.3 percent, and 9.7 percent respectively, compared to the prior year, while net sales in our Europe segment increased by 12.8 percent compared to the prior year," said the company, breaking down its performance on a regional basis.

GameStop posted an operating loss of $14.7 million for the quarter, which is less than the $96.3 million operating loss it reported over the same period last year.

The retailer remains in a period of transition following the departure of Furlong, who was followed out of the door by CFO Diana Saadeh-Jajeh. Outside of that executive shake up, the company has also reworked its business plans and recently ended support for cryptocurrency and NFTs due to the "regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space."