Gamestop’s annual shareholder meeting disrupted after ‘unprecedented demand’ causes tech issue

NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Gamestop’s highly-anticipated shareholder meeting ran into a technical problem Thursday — resulting in many eager investors being unable to log on to the livestream.

A spokesperson for Computershare, the company hosting the webcast, confirmed that “unprecedented demand” from shareholders looking to access the meeting led to a “technical issue” that prevented some from getting through. The meeting was then adjourned.

“We’re really sorry that this happened and are working with our supplier to ensure that it does not happen again,” the spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Associated Press Thursday afternoon.

The meeting was originally slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET. Around that time, those attempting to use the link found that it wouldn’t load or received an error message.

According to social media accounts of those who appeared to make it on the call, Gamestop briefly cited “technical difficulties” before adjourning the meeting. It was not immediately clear when the event would be rescheduled.

The Grapevine, Texas-based video game retailer did not immediately respond to request for comment Thursday.

Despite the fumble, Gamestop’s shares were still up for than 6% by Thursday afternoon.

At the center of the meme stock craze, Gamestop saw a resurgence last month after Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” returned online for the first time in three years.

All eyes have been on whether Gamestop can make a comeback. Roaring Kitty recently took to YouTube on Friday, to tell his hordes of followers that he still believes GameStop’s management team can turn the struggling company around following a disappointing earnings report.

There’s a long 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.