GameStop Corp., the world's biggest video game retailer, boosted its fiscal fourth-quarter outlook Thursday after reporting a 20 percent jump in its holiday same-store sales, the strongest in company history.

GameStop's impressive showing stood out among retailers, most of which reported disappointing December sales following a weak holiday shopping season.

The company expects fourth-quarter earnings of $1.09 to $1.10 per share. In November, GameStop had forecast a profit of 95 cents to 97 cents per share.

Analysts, on average, are predicting a profit of $1.01 per share, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

GameStop reported same-store sales for the nine weeks around the holidays, while most retailers posted figures for December only.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

The company now expects fourth-quarter same-store sales to increase by 15.5 percent to 16.5 percent, up from its prior outlook of a 7 percent to 9 percent increase.

GameStop, like the video game publishers whose products it sells, makes most of its money around the holidays.

For the full year, GameStop expects a profit of $1.75 to $1.76 per share, up from its prior outlook of $1.61 to $1.63 per share.

Analysts are predicting earnings of $1.66 for the fiscal year, which ends this month.

GameStop plans to post its results in mid-March.