Third-quarter results show sales down slightly - $3.48 billion over the first nine months of the year, compared with $3.7 billion at the same time last year - and an operating loss that is narrowing sharply.
No solvency problems at this stage either, with cash and cash equivalents expected to approach $1 billion by the end of the year as a result of inventory reductions following the holiday season.
This still leaves an enterprise value of roughly $3 billion for a retail business in structural decline, which has burned through $650 million in cash over the past five years. What a tempting proposition!
Nevertheless, it was a stroke of genius to raise more than $1.6 billion via the issue of new shares in the midst of meme stock mania. This miraculous infusion has kept the company afloat and the patient alive.
Loyal shareholders are now betting on Ryan Cohen to complete his takeover of the group. A whimsical entrepreneur, Cohen is credited with the meteoric success of Chewy, the e-commerce company he founded in 2011 and took to $3.5 billion in sales seven years later.
The odds were no more in his favor at Chewy then than they are today at GameSpot. In short, this is his fans' main argument.
Nicknamed the "meme stock king", Cohen's reputation isn't spotless. His involvement in a series of transactions involving Bed Bath & Beyond stock recently landed him in trouble with the law.