GameStop and AMC shares are in tears, but their business is not

To keep its business, GamePop, based in Grapevine, Texas, worked on debt payments and committed to speeding up its e-commerce operations. In the recent holiday season, the e-commerce company’s sales increased by more than 300% compared to the previous year, helped by the launch of new video game consoles from Microsoft Body.

and Sony Body.

One of the newest members of GameStop’s board of directors, Chewy Inc. co-founder Ryan Cohen asked the company last year to leave low-performing stores in the United States. , such as the renovation of the GameStop online store.

Analysts expect GameStop to record its fourth consecutive annual revenue decline in its most recent fiscal year, amid declines in its core operations and efforts to streamline its business.

—Sarah E. Needleman

AMC AMC 53.65%

Entertainment Holdings

AMC, the world’s largest film chain with nearly 1,000 locations, has become the latest darling of the retail scene after signing a series of financing agreements that are expected to help ease bankruptcy.

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic forced AMC to temporarily close most of its theaters, the Leawood, Canada-based company has faced the real possibility of running out of cash and warned investors in October that it might need to file for Chapter 11. if it does not raise enough money from investors willing to bet on its recovery.

AMC’s fortunes began to change with the introduction of coronavirus vaccines late last year, raising hopes among investors that it won’t be long before people start filming again.

The company has raised about $ 1.3 billion in debt and equity financing since December, selling its latest shelving offering on Jan. 27 just after users of Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum turned their attention to it as the next stock that will support.

However, AMC is not yet fully operational, and CEO Adam Aron warned on January 25 that, although “any discussion of imminent bankruptcy is completely turned off,” AMC investors are still advised to be cautious as future needs The company’s cash flow is uncertain in light of the ongoing pandemic and new strains of coronavirus.

“Alexander Gladstone.”

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.

BBBY 5.02%

After an activist investor fired the previous leadership in 2019, the home goods retailer is trying to change a change under the new CEO Mark Tritton, a former Target Body.

executive. Mr Tritton has hired a new management team to cut stores, simplify prices and make goods more efficient. “The wider the range, the more confusing the customer is,” Mr Tritton said in November.

The company closes about 200 of Bed Bath & Beyond’s more than 970 stores and has sold non-core assets, such as Christmas tree stores. It also launched a stock repurchase program worth up to $ 825 million over three years.

The company, which also owns BuyBuy Baby, is benefiting from a shift in pandemic spending to household items. But some analysts worry that once life returns to normal, it will give up some gains because shoppers spend more on travel and eating out. The retailer also faces stiff competition from mass market chains such as Target and online rivals such as Amazon. On January 26, before the shares gave up some of its recent gains, UBS downgraded it to “sell” out of concern that its rotation would take place in times of crisis and other problems.

—Suzanne Kapner

Nokia Body.

ENOUGH -2.77%

Nokia, in its heyday, dominated the rugged phone market built to make phone calls and not much. Then, the smartphone revolution took over the Finnish market share it once enjoyed, causing the company to abandon mobile phones and focus on the basics of the mobile economy: network equipment that connects mobile devices to the rest of the Internet.

Nokia’s profitability has suffered since the 2016 acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent, another network electronics manufacturer. The merger made the new company more complex and forced costly upgrades for customers looking for standardized cellular equipment. Rivals Ericsson AB and Huawei Technologies Co. took advantage of this opportunity to gain market share in key countries.

The company still supplies much of the world’s network equipment, a market ready for growth this year as carriers install new technology to support faster fifth-generation or 5G wireless service. Last year, the company shook its management team by appointing a new chief executive and chief financial officer.

Nokia is preparing to sell several machines to replace Huawei’s China-based cell tower equipment, which the US and many allied countries have effectively banned for reasons of national security. But geopolitics has reduced both directions, and rising tensions with the West could affect Nokia’s own sales in China.

—Drew FitzGerald

Blackberries Ltd.

BB -3.75%

BlackBerry CEO John Chen successfully rescued the Canadian company from near collapse after being hired in 2013 to reinvent a smartphone maker that had ceded dominance in the global market to more agile competitors, such as Apple Inc.

and Samsung Electronics Co.

He downsized the company’s staff and global operations and authorized other manufacturers to produce BlackBerry phones.

Mr. Chen, a software veteran, tried to reinvent BlackBerry by selling software and services designed to protect business and government communication systems and mobile devices from viruses and other online threats.

He sought to expand the business in 2018 with a $ 1.4 billion acquisition of Cylance Inc., an antivirus software maker. The purchase did not give the promised result. Cylance co-founder Stuart McClure left in 2019, and BlackBerry revenues continue to decline. The company reported net losses in the last seven quarters.

Another obstacle is the uneven demand for cars during the Covid-19 pandemic. BlackBerry sells security products to automakers to protect computers and car communications systems from cyber threats.

“Jacquie McNish.”