GameStop Fires CEO, Installs Cohen as Executive Chairman

GameStop fired its CEO Matt Furlong, announcing that activist shareholder Ryan Cohen was elected executive chairman. Furlong, who was dismissed on Monday, had been at the helm of the videogame retailer for two years as it tried to remake itself. GameStop didn’t call him by name in the announcement.

The company also reported a net loss of $50.5 million, or 17 cents a share, as sales fell 11% from the same time last year. There aren’t enough analysts tracking the stock to draw a comparison with a Wall Street consensus. Furlong could not be immediately reached for comment.
Cohen’s responsibilities will include capital allocation and overseeing management, the company said. GameStop canceled its earnings call, scheduled for after the market’s close Wednesday. Shares were down in the early Thursday premarket.
The company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the board appointed Mark H. Robinson as GameStop’s general manager and principal executive officer, reporting to Cohen. Robinson’s responsibilities include administrative matters, legal affairs and support for GameStop’s holdings.
Furlong is the third high-profile former Amazon executive who joined GameStop in 2021 but has since departed, noted Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. There has yet to be a sign of a turnaround, the analyst said, despite the effort to bring in Amazon talent. “It simply didn’t work.”

What’s Next: GameStop became a meme stock during the retail trading frenzy of early 2021, as ordinary investors took on the Wall Street pros who had gone bearish on the stock. GameStop continues to be a meme favorite, though the CEO firing may test the faithful and cheer the short sellers.

—Liz Moyer and Connor Smith