NEW YORK (AP) — GameStop Corp. will have some reason for holiday cheer if the rest of the season goes as well as November did — and so far it looks promising, according to Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia.
Bhatia said the world's largest video game retailer likely gained market share in November, given the types of games that launched during the month and "relatively normal" discounting by rivals. The company competes against big-box stores such as Target and Best Buy, but it has an edge among hardcore gamers who turn out in predictable droves to buy shooters such as "Call of Duty" and "Battlefield 3."
The analyst, who rates GameStop as a "Buy," said he found that the positive sales trends seen ad GameStop stores in early November have continued in the latter half of the month, including over the Thanksgiving weekend. That's after a mediocre October.
Bhatia said in a note to investors that GameStop has met or exceeded expectations in five of the last six November-December holiday periods.
"We particularly like the shares at current levels which suggest very modest investor expectations," he wrote.
A representative for Grapevine, Texas-based GameStop was reached by email Wednesday morning but did not have an immediate comment.
