GameStop stock climbs as CEO pursues ‘monumental’ acquisition

GameStop Corp. sparked renewed investor interest Monday after media personality Charles Payne announced he would not interview CEO Ryan Cohen, who is focused on a “monumental” project.

$9 billion war chest

The disclosure highlights the quiet but high-stakes approach GameStop is taking as it pivots away from its legacy as a struggling retailer.

GameStop now sits on roughly $9 billion in cash and liquid assets, plus a strategic reserve of about $519 million in Bitcoin. Cohen is reshaping the company into a diversified investment vehicle, drawing comparisons to Berkshire Hathaway.

M&A play?

Cohen has indicated he is hunting for a “major acquisition” of a publicly traded company, likely in the consumer or retail sector, targeting what he calls “diamonds in the rough” with underperforming management teams. He acknowledged the approach could be “genius or totally, totally foolish.”

Cohen is on the hunt for an undervalued, durable, and scalable consumer business that surpasses GameStop in size, signaling a bold shift from the company’s traditional retail roots. His compensation is entirely performance-based, structured so that he only benefits if GameStop reaches a $100 billion market capitalization and generates $10 billion in EBITDA.

Adding credibility to the plan, high-profile investor Michael Burry has publicly backed Cohen’s strategy of leveraging GameStop’s sizable cash reserves to acquire a profitable, cash-generating company.

Looking ahead

As store closures accelerate in 2026, GameStop is dismantling its old retail operations to fund this new strategy.

The specifics of the potential acquisition remain under wraps, leaving investors speculating about the company’s next big move.