GameStop Stock Soars 5% as Ryan Cohen Bets on a $100 Billion Future with Mystery Megadeal

Ryan Cohen just lobbed a financial grenade into the retail world, claiming GameStop—yes, the meme stock poster child—could hit a $100 billion valuation through a game-changing acquisition. The stock spiked 5% on Friday after the CEO unveiled this audacious plan, promising a transformation not just for the struggling retailer but for capital markets as a whole. Buckle up; this is either genius or a spectacular disaster in the making.

• Stock Surge: GameStop shares jumped 5% on news of a potential megadeal.
• Valuation Ambition: Cohen targets a $100 billion valuation, up from $10.5 billion.
• High-Stakes Gamble: Bold acquisition plan sparks both hype and hardcore skepticism.

Since taking over as CEO in September 2023, Ryan Cohen has been on a mission to resurrect GameStop, a company long battered by the decline of physical video game sales and the shift to digital platforms. Known for co-founding pet supply giant Chewy, Cohen brought a ruthless focus on operational efficiency to the table. The numbers under his watch flex some serious muscle: between fiscal Q3 2023 and Q3 2025, gross margins climbed by 7 percentage points, while net income flipped from a $3.1 million loss to a tidy $77.1 million gain. Even more impressive, GameStop notched back-to-back annual profits in 2024 and 2025, something it hadn’t pulled off in six years. A big chunk of this turnaround comes from slashing costs, pivoting to the collectibles market, and—let’s be real—milking the meme stock hype to build a war chest of over $9 billion in cash and marketable securities.

Cohen’s Moonshot: A Transformative Acquisition

Now, Cohen is swinging for the fences with what he calls a “transformational” acquisition, as detailed in a recent report on GameStop’s ambitious megadeal. The target is a larger, undervalued public consumer company saddled with incompetent management. GameStop reckons it can swoop in, apply its hard-won operational chops, and turn this mystery firm into a cash machine. Cohen didn’t hold back on the hype, framing this as a seismic shift for more than just his company:

“It’s transformational. Not just for GameStop, but for capital markets. This is something that really has never been done before.”

He’s even channeling Warren Buffett, eyeing Berkshire Hathaway’s model of building value through strategic buys. There’s just one catch—Cohen wants to pull off in a few years what Berkshire took decades to achieve. As he put it:

“It’s similar to Berkshire Hathaway, except what they did in decades we’re attempting to do in a much shorter time.”

This isn’t just corporate bravado. Cohen’s equity bonus plan is tied to hitting a $100 billion valuation for GameStop alongside $10 billion in EBITDA (that’s Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization—a fancy way of measuring raw operating profit, like the engine of a business before debt or taxes drag it down). For context, GameStop’s current valuation sits at $10.5 billion. Scaling to $100 billion in retail—a sector notorious for razor-thin margins and cutthroat competition—is like trying to mine Bitcoin with a pocket calculator. Technically possible? Maybe. Likely? Good luck. Cohen himself knows he’s walking a tightrope:

“If it works, it’s genius. If it doesn’t work, then, you know, it will be totally, totally foolish.”

Wall Street Throws Cold Water on the Dream

Wall Street isn’t exactly popping champagne over this. Investment bankers are scratching their heads, questioning whether such a valuation leap is even remotely feasible for a retailer, meme stock or not. One banker didn’t sugarcoat the doubt:

“I’ve never seen it. Unless you’re talking about radically transforming a business model or something, it just doesn’t happen in retail.”

Their skepticism makes sense when you zoom out. GameStop’s meme stock status, turbocharged by retail investors on platforms like Reddit during the 2021 frenzy, cuts both ways. That wild ride—where coordinated buying sent the stock to absurd highs—let GameStop raise billions through stock offerings, but it also painted the company as a speculative circus rather than a bedrock business. Back then, shares peaked at over $483 in January 2021, briefly pushing the market cap past $20 billion before crashing back to earth. Today’s $10.5 billion valuation feels grounded by comparison, but jumping to $100 billion still sounds like a fever dream.

Yet, not everyone’s a hater. Michael Burry, the investor who called the 2008 housing crash, recently scooped up GameStop shares and gave Cohen a nod of approval, albeit with a brutal twist:

“Ryan is making lemonade out of lemons. He has a crappy business, and he is milking it best he can while taking advantage of the meme stock phenomenon to raise cash and wait for an opportunity to make a big buy of a real growing cash cow business.”

Burry’s backhanded compliment captures the weird duality of GameStop under Cohen: a struggling retailer with a bloated balance sheet, playing 4D chess while Wall Street’s still stuck on checkers.

Bitcoin in the Balance: Will GameStop Cash Out?

Here’s where things get juicy for us crypto heads. With $9 billion in cash and securities, GameStop has the firepower to fund a big move, but speculation is swirling about whether other assets might come into play. Enter Bitcoin. GameStop has previously dipped its toes into cryptocurrency, holding an undisclosed stash of BTC as part of its treasury—a move mirroring companies like MicroStrategy or Tesla, which treat Bitcoin as “digital gold” to hedge against inflation or fiat currency risks. For the uninitiated, Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency powered by blockchain technology, a tamper-proof ledger that records transactions without a central authority. It’s a way to store value outside traditional financial systems, which is why some corporations bet on it.

If GameStop’s Bitcoin holdings are even a small fraction of its $9 billion pile—say, 1% or $90 million—that’s still a notable bet for a retailer. But will they sell it to bankroll this megadeal? Cohen dodged the question like a pro, only hinting that the acquisition strategy is “way more compelling than Bitcoin.” That’s a polite way of saying, “Don’t hold your breath, crypto bros.” If they do liquidate, it could ripple through the market. A sell-off, especially if poorly timed during a Bitcoin dip, might spook other firms holding crypto in their treasuries, signaling a retreat from the decentralization ethos we champion. On the flip side, if they hold steady, it keeps Bitcoin relevant in corporate finance discussions—a small win for adoption.

This isn’t GameStop’s first crypto rodeo, either. They flirted with blockchain vibes through a short-lived NFT marketplace in 2022, which fizzled amid lukewarm demand and the broader NFT crash. That misstep suggests Cohen’s not wedded to crypto as a core strategy, making a Bitcoin dump for this deal all the more plausible. Still, in a world where MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor hoards billions in BTC as a corporate lifeline, GameStop exiting the game could be a gut punch to the narrative that Bitcoin belongs on balance sheets.

Could This Actually Work? Weighing Both Sides

Let’s play devil’s advocate for a second. The naysayers have a point—retail is a brutal sandbox, and $100 billion valuations are reserved for tech giants or revolutionary disruptors, not brick-and-mortar relics selling Funko Pops. But Cohen’s track record at Chewy, where he turned a pet supply startup into a $10 billion juggernaut, shows he’s got a knack for efficiency and scale. If GameStop’s target acquisition is a scalable consumer brand with untapped potential, and if that $9 billion war chest is deployed with surgical precision, who’s to say a dramatic turnaround is impossible? Look at Amazon’s early days—doubted as a money-losing bookseller, now a trillion-dollar behemoth. Long shots pay off sometimes.

Still, the risks are glaring. Integrating a larger company is a logistical nightmare, and GameStop’s core business remains shaky—physical gaming isn’t coming back, no matter how many collectibles they peddle. If this deal flops, Cohen risks torching shareholder trust and squandering the meme stock cash pile on a pipe dream. Plus, the retail sector’s history is littered with failed mergers—think Sears or Toys “R” Us. A misstep here could turn GameStop into a cautionary tale, not a Berkshire 2.0.

What Does This Mean for Crypto and Capital Markets?

Beyond GameStop’s own fate, Cohen claims this deal could rewrite the playbook for capital markets. If he’s right, we might see more struggling firms use meme stock momentum or cash reserves to pivot into bolder, riskier bets—potentially shaking up how value is created in stagnant industries. For the crypto space, the stakes are different. A Bitcoin sell-off by GameStop could dent sentiment, especially if other corporations follow suit, questioning the viability of digital assets in corporate treasuries amid volatile markets. Conversely, if Cohen keeps the BTC stash intact while pulling off this acquisition, it might subtly reinforce Bitcoin’s staying power as a reserve asset, even for non-crypto-native firms.

Zooming out, this saga is a microcosm of the weird, wild intersection of traditional finance, meme culture, and decentralized tech. Cohen’s gamble is a middle finger to Wall Street’s stale thinking, embodying the disruptive spirit we cheer for—yet it’s also a reminder that not every bold move sticks the landing. Whether this ends in triumph or a Reddit roast-fest, it’s a hell of a show.

Key Questions and Takeaways on GameStop’s Bold Move

• What is Ryan Cohen’s strategy to hit a $100 billion valuation for GameStop?
  Cohen plans to acquire a larger, undervalued public consumer company with inefficient management, overhauling it with GameStop’s operational expertise to drive massive profitability, inspired by Berkshire Hathaway’s value creation model on a compressed timeline.
• How has GameStop fared under Cohen’s leadership since 2023?
  GameStop turned profitable with consecutive annual profits in 2024 and 2025, boosted gross margins by 7 points, and swung net income to $77.1 million by Q3 2025 from a prior $3.1 million loss, thanks to cost-cutting and a collectibles pivot.
• Will GameStop sell its Bitcoin holdings to fund this megadeal?
  Cohen stayed cryptic, noting the acquisition is “more compelling than Bitcoin,” leaving it unclear if GameStop’s undisclosed Bitcoin treasury will be cashed out to finance the deal.
• Is a $100 billion valuation realistic for GameStop in the retail sector?
  It’s a long shot—Cohen admits it could be “totally foolish” if it fails, and Wall Street bankers remain deeply skeptical, given retail’s thin margins and GameStop’s shaky core business, though Cohen’s Chewy success offers a sliver of hope.
• What could GameStop’s Bitcoin decision mean for corporate crypto adoption?
  Selling its Bitcoin could signal a step back from crypto as a corporate treasury asset, potentially chilling adoption if others follow; holding it while succeeding with the deal might quietly bolster Bitcoin’s relevance in business finance.

Ryan Cohen isn’t playing small, and that’s what makes this worth watching. In the chaotic mash-up of meme stocks, Bitcoin corporate treasuries, and old-school retail turnarounds, he’s betting sheer audacity can rewrite the rules. Whether he’s a visionary or just a gambler with GameStop’s future hangs in the balance—but either way, the fallout will ripple through both traditional markets and the crypto world we’re rooting for.