GameStop echoes Strategy in doubling down on bitcoin, expects to close more stores in 2025

(Reuters) - GameStop said on Tuesday that its board has unanimously approved the addition of bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.

The decision echoes that of Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, which in February dropped the word "Micro" from its name and unveiled a new logo, to emphasize its commitment to the cryptocurrency space.

Strategy said that the rebranding was "a natural evolution" as it seeks to integrate bitcoin — the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency — into the heart of its business operations.

The move by GameStop comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, signed earlier this month, to establish a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies using tokens already owned by the government.

GameStop said it will use a portion of its cash or future debt or equity issuances to be invested in bitcoin, but did not specify the maximum amount of bitcoin it might buy, according to its quarterly filing.

It also posted a rise in fourth-quarter profit, helped by its efforts to reduce costs, as it continues to grapple with a slow turnaround in its mainstay of retailing videogame hardware and merchandise.

GameStop's fourth-quarter net income more than doubled to $131.3 million, compared to the same period last year, when it posted $63.1 million.

The company, once at the center of the "meme stock" trading frenzy, has been struggling with its primary business due to an exodus towards digital downloads, game streaming and e-commerce shopping.

However, it has been aggressively cutting costs. It closed 590 stores in the United States in fiscal 2024 and anticipates closing a "significant number" of additional stores in fiscal 2025.

It reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.28 billion, compared to $1.79 billion a year earlier.

(Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)