Shares in tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) were higher today after it quashed rumors that retail giants Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) have stopped selling Xbox consoles.
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En Masse
Last month it was reported that Costco (COST) had stopped selling the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles in the United States and the United Kingdom. It explained the move was “a business decision” with no plans to restock Xbox hardware in the future.
Over the weekend Reddit (RDDT) users, claiming to work at Target and Walmart, said that both stores had followed suit and started removing their Xbox stock en masse.
“On Wednesday, the Target I work for has removed all Xbox games and I’m pretty sure it will be store- wide,” one user said. “All the games have been discontinued and will likely go [on] clearance.”
Another user commented: “My local Target is getting rid of their Xbox section. The electronics manager says they will no longer carry systems, games, or accessories. He also said all Targets in the Kansas City area are purging Xbox stock as well.”
One other declared “The Walmart store I work at is getting rid of Xbox games, too. We are doing a store remodel now, and the new layout for electronics will have no Xbox games, and Switch and PlayStation will be condensed to one lock case each. In the year or so I’ve been in electronics here, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve sold an Xbox game.”
MSFT Responds
However, Microsoft responded today telling Windows Central that “Target and Walmart, among other retailers, remain committed partners for Xbox consoles, accessories, and games.”
Earlier this month, Microsoft addressed other rumors that it planned to exit the console wars. According to these rumors, the Xbox Series X/S would be the last physical consoles made by the game developer, as it switches to an all-digital strategy focused on Xbox Game Pass.
Microsoft said at the time: “We are actively investing in our future first-party consoles and devices designed, engineered and built by Xbox. For more details, the community can revisit our agreement announcement with AMD (AMD).”
The Xbox Series X/S has not performed well with reports suggesting that it is significantly trailing the rival PlayStation 5 in sales. However, this has done little to hurt MSFT’s overall revenues – see above.
Is MSFT a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, MSFT has a Strong Buy consensus based on 34 Buy and 1 Hold ratings. Its highest price target is $680. MSFT stock’s consensus price target is $628.05, implying a 22.02% upside.
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