Shares in GameStop rose 5% in pre-market trading on Friday and were currently the top trending ticker on Yahoo Finance, as the company attracts renewed attention ahead of its third-quarter earnings report, scheduled for early December.
GameStop will release its Q3 earnings on 2 December, with Wall Street forecasting earnings of $0.20 per share and revenue of $987.3m. This marks a significant improvement from the $0.06 per share reported in the same quarter last year. Revenue is projected to increase by 15%, compared to Q3 2023.
Despite the recent uptick in share price, GameStop’s stock has struggled throughout 2025, down 31% year-to-date. Investors remain cautious, looking for clarity on the company’s retail performance and plans for capital allocation moving forward.
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The company surprised analysts in Q2, reporting earnings of $0.25 per share, well above the $0.19 expected by Wall Street. Revenue also exceeded expectations, rising 22% to $972.2m, outperforming the $900m analysts had anticipated.
As the earnings call approaches, investors will be closely watching for insights into how GameStop plans to deploy its cash reserves and stabilise its retail operations.
Shares in Google’s parent company recovered and moved into positive territory ahead of the US opening bell, as investors grow increasingly confident that the group is positioned to challenge OpenAI and Nvidia (NVDA) for leadership in AI.
“You may be asking why almost all of the AI stocks we cover are selling off after such good news from Nvidia,” Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes wrote, referring to Nvidia’s strong third quarter results last week. “There is one real reason for worry and it is the ‘AI comeback’ of Alphabet.”
Alphabet shares have risen nearly 70% this year, outperforming Meta by more than 50% over the same period. The company also overtook Microsoft in market capitalisation last week.
Google unveiled Gemini 3, its latest AI model, saying it requires “less prompting” and delivers more intelligent responses than earlier versions.
Salesforce (CRM) chief executive Marc Benioff captured the industry’s enthusiasm with a post on X, saying that although he had used OpenAI’s ChatGPT daily for three years, he would not be returning to it after two hours with Gemini 3. “The leap is insane,” wrote Benioff, whose company partners with Google, OpenAI and several other frontier model developers. “Everything is sharper and faster. It feels like the world just changed, again.”
Shares in Baidu have staged a shy recovery during pre-market hours on Wall Street, after reports that the company has begun layoffs following its third quarter loss.
Baidu initiated job cuts this week across multiple business units, according to Reuters, as the company contends with mounting competition in artificial intelligence and weakening advertising revenue. The move comes shortly after Baidu reported a third quarter loss on 18 November.
The layoffs are expected to continue through the end of the year. Two of the sources told Reuters reductions could reach as high as 40% in some teams depending on performance ratings.
Despite the pressures on its core operations, Baidu is emerging as one of China’s leading AI chip players, positioning itself as a challenger to Huawei as both seek to fill the gap left by Nvidia’s absence from the Chinese market.
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Several analysts have upgraded their outlook on Baidu’s shares in recent weeks, highlighting the company’s semiconductor business and predicting that the unit will attract more domestic orders.
“We believe domestic demand for AI compute in China remains intense, and hyperscalers are increasingly sourcing from local solution providers,” JPMorgan said in a note.“We view [Baidu-produced] Kunlun AI chip as one of the best positioned.”
Shares in Puma were in the red in Germany after surging 18% in the previous session, following a Bloomberg report that China’s Anta Sports (2020.HK)is among several companies exploring a possible acquisition of the struggling German athletic brand.
The company is now weighing a potential buyout, according to the report, which cited unnamed sources. Hong Kong listed Anta Sports has been working with an adviser to assess a bid for Puma, the people said. Anta, whose portfolio includes Fila and Jack Wolfskin, may partner with a private equity firm if it decides to proceed, some of the sources added.
Rival Chinese sportswear group Li Ning (82331.HK) is also viewed as a potential bidder. The company, founded by the Olympic gymnast of the same name, has been in talks with banks over financing options as it evaluates the opportunity, the people said. Japan’s Asics (7936.T) could also express interest, they added.
Both Hong Kong listed firms are reviewing a possible offer, but Puma’s sharp decline in market value this year makes it challenging to reach an agreement on valuation with its largest shareholder Artemis.
The report comes as the German sportswear maker presses ahead with a restructuring of its business. Arthur Hoeld, the former Adidas executive who took over as chief executive earlier this year, set out a series of strategies in October aimed at returning Puma to growth by 2027.
Shares in All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers rose 5% in London after the pub group reported higher profits and sales.
Pre-tax profits increased to £238m in the year to September 27 from £199m a year earlier, with like for like sales up 4.3%. Sales growth reached 3.8% in the first eight weeks of the new financial year, the company said.
Mitchells & Butlers said it faces additional costs of around £130m in the coming year due to a sharply higher wage bill, rising food prices and measures announced in the budget.
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The group said the increase is being driven mainly by April’s rise in national insurance contributions and the minimum wage, with another above inflation minimum wage increase expected this year.
Food price inflation is also weighing on the business, particularly a jump in meat costs, the group said. It added that the roughly £130m figure includes its “preliminary assessment of the impact of the chancellor’s recent autumn budget.”
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