GameStop Weekly Chart
GameStop Corp (GME) announced plans to add Bitcoin to its treasury reserve assets, sending its shares up more than 6% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.
The video game retailer’s board unanimously approved the decision as part of a modification to its investment policy, the company said in a statement.
GameStop’s move follows speculation about its cryptocurrency plans after CEO Ryan Cohen posted a picture of himself with Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy (MSTR), a major corporate Bitcoin holder, in February.
The announcement comes as GameStop reported a 28% year-over-year decline in fourth-quarter revenue to $1.28 billion. However, adjusted net income rose to $136.4 million, or 30 cents per share, from $67.7 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier.
GameStop’s stock was down about 19% for the year through Tuesday’s market close.
Some analysts remain cautious about the long-term impact of this strategy on GameStop’s stock price. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said that even a substantial Bitcoin investment might not necessarily lead to a significant increase in the stock’s value.
The move aligns GameStop with other major corporations like Tesla (TSLA) and MicroStrategy that have invested in Bitcoin as a reserve asset.