The meme stock protagonist known as Roaring Kitty took to YouTube Friday to tell his hordes of followers that he still believes GameStop’s management team can turn the struggling video game retailer around.
In a live stream that drew more than 600,000 views Roaring Kitty, whose real name is Keith Gill, posted a screenshot of an E-Trade account that appears to show he continues to hold a sizeable investment in GameStop. But his remarks couldn’t keep shares in the company from plunging almost 40% — a drag on the value of Gill’s investment and a warning about the unpredictability of meme stocks.
Gill’s appearance on YouTube came hours after the release of GameStop’s quarterly results, which showed the company’s turnaround has a way to go. GameStop managed to narrow its losses in the first quarter, but its revenue fell as sales weakened for hardware and accessories, software and collectibles. GameStop also filed paperwork with securities regulators to sell up to 75 million shares of stock.
Gill, who has experience as a licensed securities broker and financial wellness educator, was rambling and unfocused at times during his midday live stream, which ran for nearly an hour and marked his first YouTube video in more than three years.
“No real game plan here, just wanted to hop in, see what's poppin',” Gill said shortly after the start of the live stream. He appeared with his right arm in a sling and bandages on his head, face and clothes in an apparent reference to the beating GameStop's shares were taking.
Gill at times reiterated his belief that GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen is taking the right approach to transitioning the company from a brick-and-mortar seller of video games and accessories to a successful online gaming company.
“I feel like I see enough here I believe this guy might be able to do it,” Gill said, noting that there are no guarantees, however.
“You could lose it all,” he said. “You could lose everything.”
GameStop and Cohen haven’t offered many details of the company's turnaround plan, and Gill didn’t offer any ideas of his own.
All told, the company based in Grapevine, Texas, said Friday that it lost $32.3 million, or 11 cents per share, for the period that ended May 4. A year earlier, it lost $50.5 million, or 17 cents per share. Its adjusted loss was 12 cents per share. Quarterly sales dropped to $881.8 million from $1.24 billion a year ago. GameStop did not hold a conference call to discuss its financial performance.
As Gill's live stream went on, GameStop shares sank further. The stock had been down about 20% at $37.29 per share shortly before noon Eastern time, when the live stream was scheduled to begin. It was down just over 40% to $27.65 per share shortly before Gill signed off with an “adios” and “peace!” followed by a short outro video of kittens.
The New York Stock Exchange paused trading in GameStop more than 15 times by early afternoon Friday due to unusually high volatile trading in the stock.
Gill also asserted during the live stream that he was not working with a hedge fund or a large institution, a nod to speculation that he may now have the backing of deeper-pocketed investors.
He briefly displayed a screenshot of an E-Trade portfolio page showing holdings in GameStop that were down more than $235 million as of Friday.
That activity came about three weeks after Gill appeared online for the first time in three years, spiking the price of GameStop at the time. In May, the “Roaring Kitty” account posted an image on X of a man sitting forward in his chair, a meme used by gamers when things are getting serious.
The post on X was followed with a YouTube video from years before when Gill championed the beleaguered company saying, “That’s all for now cuz I’m out of breath. FYI here’s a quick 4min video I put together to summarize the $GME bull case.”
In its filing to sell up to 75 million shares of stock, GameStop noted that between Feb. 4 and June 6, the closing price of its stock has ranged between $10.01 and $48.75, and daily trading volume ranged from 1.7 million shares to nearly 207 million shares.
“During such period, we did not experience any material changes in our financial condition or results of operations that would explain such price volatility or trading volume,” the company said. Going back to January 2021, “the market price of our common stock has seen extreme price fluctuations that do not appear to be based on the underlying fundamentals of our business or results of operations.”
GameStop shares closed Friday down 39.4% at $28.22.
GameStop in 2021 was a video game retailer that was struggling to survive as consumers switched rapidly from discs to digital downloads. Big Wall Street hedge funds and major investors were betting against it, or shorting its stock, believing that its shares would continue on a drastically downward trend.
Gill and those who agreed with him changed the trajectory of a company that appeared to be headed for bankruptcy by buying up thousands of GameStop shares in the face of almost any accepted metrics that told investors that the company was in serious trouble.
That began what is known as a “short squeeze,” when those big investors that had bet against GameStop were forced to buy its rapidly rising stock to offset their massive losses.
FILE - A GameStop sign is displayed above a store in Urbandale, Iowa, on Jan. 28, 2021. GameStop managed to narrow its losses in the first quarter, but the video game retailer's revenue fell as sales weakened for hardware and accessories, software and collectibles. The results were released shortly after the man at the center of the pandemic meme stock craze, who is known as “Roaring Kitty” on social media platforms YouTube and X, disclosed that he'll be hosting a YouTube livestream on Friday June 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — With time running down, negotiators at the United Nations annual climate talks on Wednesday remained mired in the maze of a trillion-dollar money problem, turning to host Azerbaijan to lead the way to daylight with a promised map to be released in the dark of night.
Vulnerable nations are seeking $1.3 trillion to deal with damage from climate change and to adapt to that change, including building out their own clean-energy systems. Experts agree that at least $1 trillion is called for, but both figures are far more than the developed world has so far offered.
Negotiators are fighting over three big parts of the issue: How big the numbers are, how much is grants or loans, and who contributes.
After 10 days of talks, the host presidency of the talks, called COP29, promised a draft proposal around midnight local time, which they acknowledged will be far from final and have many decisions still to be made. But it's something, a clear step forward, said lead negotiator Yelchin Rafiyev.
German special climate envoy Jennifer Morgan late Wednesday afternoon put the onus on the COP29 presidency.
“Much is really now in the presidency’s hands and the options that they will put in front of us, the text that will come out,” Morgan said. “I think the options can help shift us into the fast lane towards a green and prosperous future or mire us in a fight about lowest common denominators.”
And the key to a solution is one word, Morgan said: Trust.
“The most critical currency right now is trust — trust in the presidency and and trust between and amongst parties,” Morgan said. “And what this effectively means is a lot of shuttle diplomacy, numerous huddles between negotiating groups.”
At a session where ministers relayed their progress Wednesday, Australia’s climate minister Chris Bowen — one of the ministers leading talks on the money goal — said that he's heard different proposals on how much cash should be in the pot. As well as the $1.3 trillion proposed by developing countries, nations proposed figures of $900 billion, $600 billion and $440 billion, he said.
Diego Pacheco Balanza, the chair of the Like-Minded Developing Countries negotiating bloc, said the group was also hearing a figure of $200 billion in negotiating corridors. That's not enough, he said. “Developed countries whose legal obligations it is to provide finance continue to shift their responsibility to developing countries,” Pacheco Balanza said.
When asked for his response to the $200 billion suggestion, Adonia Ayebare, chair of the G77 plus China negotiating group asked, “Is it a joke?” Speaking to a room of reporters, he added that negotiations need a headline figure of $1.3 trillion. “I used to be a member of the press, I know the headline is important,” he said.
But European climate envoy Wopke Hoekstra said "it is important to determine the elements first, so that you can have an informed conversation about what an ambitious and also realistic number could be.”
Elsewhere, there appeared to be some positivity on working through other issues at the talks.
South Africa's climate minister Dion George — one of two ministers leading talks on how to cut planet-warming fossil fuels — said that “all parties confirmed their commitment to delivering on the Dubai consensus reached last year” when countries pledged to transition away from fossil fuels.
Morgan said 150 nations are working “to come overcome the vocal but isolated minority trying to block progress on” reducing heat-trapping emissions and weaning the world from fossil fuels.
And New Zealand's climate minister Simon Watts was also “very encouraged” by movement on so-called Article 6, a proposal to slash emissions through, among other things, a system of carbon credits that allow nations to pollute if they offset emissions elsewhere.
But a lot was still left to work out.
Alden Meyer of the European think tank E3G summed up the state of negotiations on Wednesday by saying the word of the day at the talks is “circle… as in going around in circles."
Juan Pablo Hoffmaister of the Environmental Defense Fund said “the frustration is palpable” as time starts to run out.
Hoffmaister, who’s a former negotiator for developing countries, said that while potential climate finance goals are finally out, it’s still unclear how they will be delivered — loans, grants or other means. “We need to fix this over the next 72 hours,” he said.
Italy’s special envoy for climate change, Francesco Corvaro, said negotiations feel like they are moving in the right direction, but that it’s likely going to take extra time to reach a deal. “We can’t fail,” he said. But he stressed that Europe doesn’t have the capacity to cover the cost of climate finance alone.
Ali Mohamed, chair of the African Group of Negotiators said he hopes “that our partners will come forward with a justifiable number that will meet the needs and the the scale of the growing problems of climate change.”
Mohamed said there is a clear obligation for developed countries to support poorer countries but “up to now, we don’t seem to have a figure,” he said expressing frustration at the slow progress.
Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Bangladesh government on environment and climate change, also slammed developed countries in a press conference, saying “the global north and the major emitting countries still lack the feeling of urgency and true commitment” on curbing climate change.
But, she said, there is reason to keep trust in process. “You can’t give up hope," she said. "Giving up hope makes no sense.”
Meanwhile, half the world away in Rio, Brazil, where the Group of 20 summit wrapped up on Tuesday, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the group of the world’s largest economies that “the success of COP29 is largely in your hands.”
“That goal, the financial goal, in its different layers, must meet the needs of developing countries, beginning with a significant increase in concessional public funds,” he said.
And the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said developed nations should consider moving their 2050 emission goals forward to 2040 or 2045.
“The G20 is responsible for 80% of greenhouse effect emissions,” he said. “Even if we are not walking the same speed, we can all take one more step.”
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
People walk with the Baku Olympic Stadium in the background during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser for environment, forest and climate change of Bangladesh, speaks during a news conference at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Rashad Nabiyev, Minster development and transport Azerbaijan, left, and Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan's COP29 lead negotiator, speaks during a news conference at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Wopke Hoekstra, EU climate commissioner speaks during a news conference at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Ukraine Environment Minister Svitlana Grynchuk speaks during a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Palestinian Chairperson of Environment Nisreen Tamimi leaves after speaking during a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan's COP29 lead negotiator, attends a session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Activists demonstrate for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Attendees listen during a session on urbanization at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Activist Erica Njuguna speaks during a demonstration on climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Activist Erica Njuguna leads a demonstration with signs reading "Global South: stand up for public finance" at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
