It comes off rather grim.
But, this is just a letter to set the stage for RC as the new CEO, what his employees can expect of him. Grim maybe, but it might just be hard dose of reality.
Recent words by Pulte also seem to lean towards this notion that we are up against powerful forces that oppose our success, and that victory won't be easy.
RC has emphasized to judge him by his actions and not his words. And, from my point of view, the action sequence in summary has gone kind of like this:
- RC buys in to GameStop
- RC replaces the entire board and becomes chairman
- GameStop raises $1.7 billion through the 2 ATMs, pays off debts, provides funding for operations, etc.
- 2 years later GameStop currently holds nearly $900 million in cash and a negligible amount of debt
- GameStop's recent quarter showed very small losses overall, a major improvement over previous years
- RC is now in the CEO chair and has the most at stake here
Though this letter has a particular tone that might come off as grim, it seems to me like GameStop is in a pretty safe position regardless. I've seen some comments on Reddit about appearing weak when you are strong, that whole art of war thing.
In any case, I trust that RC is the man for the job, he puts his money where his mouth is, and he works hard. I feel confident knowing that the interests of this person leading the company are in alignment with my own interests as a shareholder.