GameStop fired CEO Matt Furlong two years after hiring him and appointed billionaire Ryan Cohen as executive chairman, causing the corporate’s stock to fall 20% in prolonged trading.
Former Amazon executive Furlong joined GameStop in 2021, just months after the corporate found itself at the middle of a “meme” trading frenzy that saw a bunch of social media-armed traders discuss the worth of the stock.
The corporate didn’t say why Furlong was terminated and didn’t immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the small print. The video game retailer also said it could not be holding talks about earnings.
Billionaire investor Cohen, who co-founded online pet retailer Chewy, has served as CEO of GameStop since 2021, and can be the bulk shareholder of the Texas-based company.
Cohen spearheaded the corporate’s transition to e-commerce and was answerable for upheavals at its top management, including the hiring of some former Amazon employees.
![Ryan Cohen](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012325673.jpg?w=1024)
“This reflects a whole lack of strategy. They desired to “be like Amazon” and hired Amazon’s Jenna Owens, Mike Recupero and Matt Furlong in 2021, said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
Jenna Owens was a former COO and left the corporate in October 2021, just seven months after joining. Michael Recupero was fired as chief financial officer last 12 months.
Pachter added that Cohen is “incapable of running a retail business … It’s kind of like Elon Musk running Twitter.”
![GameStop store](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012325787.jpg?w=1024)
Cohen and representatives didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
GameStop saw its fourth straight decline in quarterly revenue and missed market estimates as consumers in the reduction of on non-essential spending in an uncertain economy.
![Matt Furlong](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012326024.jpg?w=1024)
The video game retailer reported revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter ended April 29, in comparison with a mean analyst estimate of $1.36 billion, in keeping with Refinitiv.
The corporate also reported a lack of 14 cents a share, compared with analysts’ estimates of a lack of 12 cents a share for the quarter.