The meme stock craze subsides, GameStop falls for two consecutive days, and the return of 'Roaring Kitty' fails to stop the decline

According to the Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, the stock price of GameStop (GME.US) has experienced a second consecutive day of decline, following a significant drop earlier. Last Friday, despite a pre-market surge of over 30%, the stock price plummeted nearly 40% by the close of trading as news of a decline in quarterly sales was announced. On Monday, the downward trend continued with a further drop of over 12%, closing at $24.83. During this period, Keith Gill, also known as "Roaring Kitty," a prominent figure influenced by the stock, returned to YouTube in an attempt to spark new interest in this struggling retailer. However, despite Gill's return attracting significant attention, the continued decline in the company's stock price indicates that his influence has not translated into renewed investor enthusiasm for GameStop.

Just last Friday, GameStop announced its second stock offering in a few days, while Gill also conducted his first live stream in three years on the same day. As a key driver behind GameStop's astonishing stock rebound in 2021, he humorously discussed GameStop during the live stream, interspersed with several disclaimers. As of Monday, the video had surpassed 2.4 million views on YouTube.

According to information shared by Gill on social media, he increased his GameStop holdings by an average of 21.274 USD per share, purchasing 5 million shares, and bought 120,000 call options expiring on June 21st with a strike price of 20 USD at a price of 5.6754 USD per contract. Although Reuters could not independently verify the number and value of shares he holds, data from the London Stock Exchange shows that the trading price of these option contracts has risen to 6.40 USD per contract.

Financial reports show that this electronic game retailer's net sales in the first quarter were 8.818 billion USD, a 29% decrease from 12.37 billion USD in the same period last year, exceeding analysts' expectations. The company incurred a loss of 32.3 million USD for the quarter, a decrease from 50.5 million USD in the same period last year, but with an adjusted loss per share of 0.12 USD, still falling short of market expectations.

GameStop also applied to sell up to 75 million Class A shares last Friday, with the proceeds intended for operating funds and general corporate purposes. Previously, the company raised approximately 9.334 billion USD by selling 45 million shares.

Other so-called "Meme stocks," such as AMC Theatres (AMC.US) and headphone retailer Koss Corporation (KOSS.US), also fell by nearly 7% and about 4% respectively on Monday.

Despite GameStop's stock price nearly doubling within two days of Gill's X.com (formerly Twitter) account returning on May 14th, most of the gains have since been retraced. Nevertheless, as of 2024, GameStop's stock price has still risen by approximately 37%GameStop has been struggling with losses for years, mainly due to the trend of consumers shifting towards online shopping. The latest quarterly performance shows a decline in sales across all business segments, including hardware and accessories, software, and collectibles, reflecting the company's greater-than-expected challenges in a fiercely competitive and constantly changing industry, making it difficult to maintain market share and revenue growth