GameStop CEO Plans Massive Consumer Acquisition to Reach $100 Billion Value

Ambitious Transformation Plan

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen is setting his sights on an acquisition that could fundamentally transform the video game retailer into something much larger. GameStop hopes to pull off a "very, very, very big" acquisition of a larger consumer company, with Cohen telling CNBC that the company wants to acquire a publicly traded consumer company that's far larger than the video game retailer in a deal that could be "transformational." Cohen acknowledges the bold nature of his plan, telling The Wall Street Journal "It's ultimately either going to be genius or totally, totally foolish."

If Cohen can grow GameStop to a $100 billion market cap, about 10 times its current value, he stands to reap a massive payday. Cohen compares his strategy to Berkshire Hathaway, saying "It's similar to Berkshire Hathaway, except what Berkshire did in decades we're attempting to do in a much shorter time in terms of creating that much value." The company has already structured an incentive package that would reward Cohen handsomely if these ambitious targets are met.

War Chest and Bitcoin Holdings

Over the last two years, GameStop has amassed a more than $9 billion cash pile between cash on hand and marketable securities – money the company had been using to invest in bitcoin. GameStop purchased 4,710 Bitcoins, at the time worth about $500 million, making GameStop the 14th largest bitcoin holder in the world. This substantial treasury gives Cohen significant firepower for potential acquisitions.

When asked if GameStop will liquidate its bitcoin holdings to help fund its acquisition plans, Cohen said he was "not prepared to say," but called his new strategy "way more compelling than bitcoin." GameStop has recently shifted its crypto holdings from cold storage to Coinbase Prime, which may also hint at a plan to boost liquidity through crypto sales to pursue M&A opportunities.

Skepticism and Challenges

While Cohen has transformed GameStop from a dying legacy retailer into a money making business, it's unclear how an acquisition in the consumer space could increase its worth to over $100 billion – a herculean task for a business with a $10.5 billion market cap, with one investment banker in the consumer and retail space skeptical Cohen could pull it off. Michael Pachter, a managing director at Wedbush Securities, told Fortune "I might be able to give you a higher than 0.001% probability that it'll get to $100 billion. But I take the underside of that bet. I'd say no, not going to happen."

Since taking over as GameStop's CEO in September 2023, Cohen has dramatically cut costs, improved the retailer's profitability and grown its collectibles business, with GameStop's gross margin growing by 7 percentage points and net income climbing to $77.1 million, up from a loss of $3.1 million, posting consecutive annual net incomes following five straight years of losses.

Market Response and Future Outlook

Cohen has been putting his money where his mouth is, purchasing 1 million shares of company stock for roughly $21.4 million last week, and opining that any CEO who fails to buy their stock in the open market with their own money should be fired. The company stock saw a recent boost after hedge fund investor Michael Burry, best known for his prescient short of the U.S. housing market ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, announced he's been buying shares of GameStop's stock, spurring the most retail buying of GameStop shares since late Q1 2025.

Whether Cohen can execute this transformation remains the central question for investors. His track record includes building Chewy into a multi-billion dollar success story, but scaling GameStop to rival major consumer giants represents an entirely different challenge. With nearly $9 billion in cash and a willingness to make bold moves, Cohen has the resources to attempt his vision – the question is whether he can find the right target and execute flawlessly in an increasingly competitive retail landscape.