GameStop (NYSE: GME) was a fading brick-and-mortar video game retailer until January 2021, when it became the center of the largest short squeeze in market history. Ryan Cohen then led a turnaround, the company sold shares at elevated prices to build a multi-billion-dollar cash reserve, and in 2025 it announced a Bitcoin treasury strategy.
Short interest exceeded 100% of the free float in late 2020. Reddit's WallStreetBets community piled into shares and call options, forcing short sellers to cover and driving the split-adjusted price from under $5 to above $120 in weeks. Buyers at the peak, however, sat on deep drawdowns for years.
Physical game retail keeps shrinking as sales move to digital downloads, collectibles are a smaller but growing category, interest on the multi-billion cash pile now funds much of the operation, and a 2025 Bitcoin treasury adds crypto exposure.
A shrinking core business, a valuation persistently above earnings-based targets, dilution from repeated share sales into rallies, and extreme volatility that often arrives without news.
Billions in cash generating interest income, a loyal global retail holder base that keeps effective float low, and Ryan Cohen's capital allocation, which the market prices at a premium.
Markets can be badly wrong for a long time in both directions, and returns depend on which side of the mispricing you stand. Track the cash reserve and its interest income, the core retail revenue decline, and any new share-sale announcement.
Note: historical prices are adjusted for the 2022 4-for-1 split; GameStop suspended its dividend in 2019. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Data updates daily.