GameStop reports strong holiday sales, Wall Street passes

Despite the generally bad news thus far from many US retailers about this holiday season's sales, the nation's largest gaming retailer has posted stellar results.

Holiday same-store sales for GameStop shot up some 20% over the previous year, with total sales increasing 35%. GameStop's success even gave it enough confidence to raise its 2007 fiscal guidance by 13 cents per share.

The retailer sold out of PSP and the Nintendo DS over the holiday. Sales of all three next-generation consoles also proved to be strong.

Among the top games sold were Guitar Hero III, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Assassin's Creed, Rock Band, and Super Mario Galaxy.

The news wasn't well received on Wall Street, even though it could be argued that traders are hungry for some post-holiday cheer in an otherwise tough retail environment. In midday Thursday trading, GameStop shares were down nearly 5% to $52.43.

Analysts suggested that the drop could be related to the innards of the announcement. While the company expects a much higher profit, it only nudged up same store sales a single percentage point, possibly indicating it might not be able to maintain momentum.

Even so, many are recommending a buy on the stock, arguing the drop was only temporary. Full 2007 results and guidance for 2008 will be released by GameStop in mid-March, the company said.