GameStop mobile sales jump 290 percent

GameStop posted overall revenue and profit declines for its first quarter ended May 4, but the retailer's mobile and digital channels saw gains.

The retailer announced today that mobile sales grew 290 percent in the quarter to $46.8 million, while digital receipts jumped 47.3 percent.

That's where the good news for GameStop ended. New software sales decreased 3.8 percent, while new hardware sales fell by an even larger 30.6 percent. Used-game sales fell 7.5 percent.

Year-to-date, GameStop said its US market share for new PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 software stood at 47.7 percent.

Overall, GameStop posted a net profit of $54.6 million during the period, down from net earnings of $72.5 million last year. Revenue came in at $1.87 billion for the quarter, down from $2.00 billion a year ago. Comparable store sales fell 6.7 percent, and GameStop said this negative trend is due to the "late stage effects of the current console cycle."

"GameStop's continuing margin expansion, growing new businesses and market share gains are the results of executing our strategic plan," GameStop CEO Paul Raines said in a statement. "We look forward to capitalizing on the upcoming new console cycle."

GameStop management will hold a call later today to discuss earnings and answer analyst questions. The retailer's stock value has fallen since it was reported earlier this week that Microsoft's Xbox One may require users to pay a fee to play secondhand titles.