GameStop

Quick Take

GameStop's political footprint runs through its people and its posting rather than its checkbook. Chairman and Chief Executive Ryan Cohen endorsed Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, hours after the shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In February 2025 he tied the announced sale of the company's Canadian and French operations to what he called wokeness and DEI, though the corporate press release gave no such reason. In October 2025 the company account itself traded Halo memes with the White House. Across the entire 2024 election cycle, meanwhile, OpenSecrets recorded $5,456 in donations tied to GameStop, all of it from individuals rather than the company, and $0 in federal lobbying.

When the White House Traded Memes With a Game Store

On October 25, 2025, GameStop's corporate X account posted a mock executive order, complete with WHEREAS clauses, declaring the console wars over. The occasion was Microsoft's announcement that Halo, the franchise that defined Xbox exclusivity, would come to Sony's PlayStation 5.[1]

The following night the official White House account reshared the post alongside an apparent AI-generated image of President Trump saluting the American flag in the armor of Halo's Master Chief. The caption was "Power to the Players," GameStop's registered slogan. The White House Rapid Response account joined in, framing the truce as another war the president had ended. GameStop's account answered with its own images placing Trump and Vice President JD Vance inside the Halo universe.[1] Fox Business reported the same sequence, noting that GameStop closed the loop by echoing one of the president's signature sign-offs.[2]

Shares rose to $25.03 in premarket trading on Monday, October 27, up 7.4 percent from Friday's close, on a stock that was down roughly 26 percent for the year to that point.[1]

The account doing the posting was the corporate one, not an executive's personal feed. That distinction matters for how the exchange reads: this was brand voice, published by the company, engaging directly with the sitting administration's social media operation.

Where the Money Actually Goes

OpenSecrets lists no corporate political action committee for GameStop. The organization totals it publishes for the company therefore represent individual contributions of $200 or more from employees, owners and their immediate family members, not corporate treasury money. That distinction is easy to misread and worth stating plainly: the company itself is not the donor in these figures.[3]

For the 2024 election cycle, which under the OpenSecrets two-year binning runs from January 1, 2023 through December 2024, individual giving associated with GameStop totaled $5,456. OpenSecrets recorded no outside spending by the company in that cycle, and no identified affiliates.[3]

On lobbying, which is reported by calendar year under the Lobbying Disclosure Act rather than by election cycle, OpenSecrets shows that GameStop did not report lobbying the federal government during the 2024 cycle.[3]

Set that against the balance sheet. GameStop closed fiscal 2025 with $9.0 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.[4] For a retailer with thousands of stores and billions of dollars on hand, carrying no PAC and filing no lobbying reports at all is a notable absence.

The Chairman Speaks for Himself

Ryan Cohen co-founded the online pet retailer Chewy, built a stake in GameStop and joined its board in January 2021. The board elected him Executive Chairman on June 7, 2023, and President and Chief Executive Officer on September 28, 2023, stating at the time that he would receive no compensation for the roles.[5][6]

On July 13, 2024, hours after the attempt on Trump's life in Butler, Pennsylvania, Cohen posted a short endorsement of Trump on X. Four days later he published a single post consisting of the word TRUMP repeated 665 times, which circulated widely.[7]

On February 18, 2025, GameStop announced that, as part of an evaluation of its international assets, it intended to pursue a sale of its operations in France and Canada. The same day Cohen posted an invitation to email the company's mergers and acquisitions address, adding that a buyer would receive "High taxes, Liberalism, Socialism, Progressivism, Wokeness and DEI included at no additional cost."[8] The corporate release itself offered no such rationale, describing the move only as part of an asset review.[9] GameStop did not respond to requests for comment on the post.[8]

Under GameStop's own framing, these are two different kinds of statement. One is a filed corporate announcement. The other is an individual executive writing in his own voice on his own account. Both are documented; they are not interchangeable.

Where the Agreement Stopped

Cohen's public alignment has visible limits, and they showed up in his own posts within weeks. As the administration's tariff announcements sent markets sliding in early April 2025, he wrote that the tariffs were "turning me into a dem," punctuating the post with a rainbow pride flag.[16] A day later, on April 4, he added, "I can't wait for my $10,000 made in the USA iPhone."[10]

The remark landed in a week when Nintendo delayed United States preorders for the Switch 2 while it assessed the potential impact of tariffs, a decision with direct consequences for GameStop, whose largest vendors in fiscal 2025 were Nintendo, Sony and Pokemon.[10][11]

What the Filings Actually Say

Cohen's February 2025 post placed GameStop in press coverage of companies stepping back from diversity programs. The company's own annual reports do not document such a step.

The Human Capital sections of GameStop's Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 and for fiscal 2025 are nearly identical. Both describe a human resources philosophy built on three named tenets: development, collaboration and benefits. Neither section uses the words diversity, equity or inclusion, and neither describes a diversity program being adopted or discontinued.[11][12]

The company's public-facing employment materials read differently from the chairman's posts. GameStop's careers site states that it provides equal employment opportunities without regard to characteristics that include sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and its careers privacy policy says it may use data such as sexual orientation for equal opportunity and diversity and inclusion purposes. Both pages were live as of August 2026, well after the wokeness and DEI post.[17][18]

What did change in the filings is scale. The fiscal 2024 report counted approximately 6,000 full-time associates and 10,000 to 13,000 part-time associates. A year later the figures were approximately 4,000 full-time and 11,000 to 16,000 part-time.[11][12]

A Balance Sheet Turned Into the Main Event

GameStop's fiscal 2025 annual report opens by describing a business model expanding beyond retail into what it calls disciplined capital allocation, with the balance sheet treated as a strategic asset.[11]

This is not GameStop's first venture into crypto. The company launched a digital-asset wallet and an NFT marketplace in 2022, then wound the marketplace down effective February 2024, citing the continuing regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space. The Bitcoin treasury strategy followed about a year later.[19]

The board approved a revised investment policy on March 18, 2025, and on March 25 announced the addition of Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, with no stated maximum.[12] During fiscal 2025 the company spent $500.0 million purchasing digital assets. At January 31, 2026, Bitcoin and related receivables were carried at $368.4 million, after a $131.6 million loss on digital assets for the year, $151.0 million of it in the fourth quarter alone.[4]

Authority over that portfolio sits with a three-member Investment Committee consisting of Cohen and two independent directors. The company discloses that committee members may, in their personal capacity or through affiliated vehicles, invest in the same securities the company buys, and states that the board views this as aligning interests by placing personal money at the same risk.[11]

From Discs to Pokemon Cards

The merchandise mix has moved sharply. Collectibles, a category that includes apparel, toys, trading cards and card authentication and grading services, reached 29.2 percent of net sales in fiscal 2025, up from 18.8 percent a year earlier. Software fell to 20.1 percent from 26.3 percent.[4] The fiscal 2025 report flags dependence on the popularity of trading cards, including Pokemon cards, as a named business risk.[11]

The store fleet has shrunk on the same curve. GameStop closed 727 United States stores in fiscal 2025 after closing 590 the year before, ending January 31, 2026 with 2,206 stores worldwide: 1,598 in the United States, 308 in France and 300 in Australia. Over three years the company exited Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Italy and Canada, and it has signed an agreement toward a potential sale of the French business.[11][12]

Who Owns the Company

Cohen held roughly 8.2 percent of GameStop shares as of an October 2025 filing and is the company's largest stockholder.[1][11] Aside from executive security services provided under a board-established program, he has taken no compensation since joining the board.[11]

On January 6, 2026, the board granted Cohen a fully performance-based stock option award covering 171,537,327 shares at an exercise price of $20.66, divided into nine tranches tied to market capitalization and earnings hurdles, and subject to approval by stockholders other than Cohen himself. Reported at a grant date fair value of $2.5 billion, the package could be worth roughly $35 billion if every hurdle were cleared over a decade.[11][13] In June 2026 Cohen declined the award, with the company saying he wanted leadership attention fixed on operating performance and a pending acquisition.[13]

Recent News

In May 2026 GameStop made an unsolicited, nonbinding offer to acquire eBay for $125 per share in a half cash, half stock deal valuing the company at roughly $55.5 billion, a premium of about 20 percent to eBay's prior close. eBay's board rejected it, citing financing doubts.[14][13] In a July 2026 Bloomberg interview Cohen declined to say whether he would raise the bid but said GameStop would pursue eBay regardless, and dismissed the significance of Sony's plan to stop producing new physical PlayStation discs.[15]

For fiscal 2025, ended January 31, 2026, net sales were $3.630 billion against $3.823 billion the prior year, with operating income of $232.1 million reversing a $26.2 million operating loss, and net income of $418.4 million.[4]

Where to Find Them

GameStop operates 1,598 stores across all 50 states and sells online at gamestop.com. The largest state footprints are Texas at 177 stores, California at 131 and Florida at 106. Corporate offices, along with United States distribution, fulfillment and refurbishment operations, are consolidated at 625 Westport Parkway in Grapevine, Texas, in the Dallas and Fort Worth area. The company is incorporated in Delaware and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under GME.[11]

Footnotes

[1] Siladitya Ray, Forbes, "GameStop Stock Surges 7% After White House Boosts Its X Post With Trump Meme," October 27, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/10/27/gamestop-stock-surges-7-after-white-house-boosts-its-x-post-with-ai-generated-trump-meme/

[2] Greg Wehner, Fox Business, "White House responds to GameStop's viral 'executive order' ending 'console wars' with Trump imagery," October 28, 2025. https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/white-house-responds-gamestops-viral-executive-order-ending-console-wars-trump-imagery

[3] OpenSecrets, "GameStop Corp Profile: Summary," organization ID D000042102, accessed August 4, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/gamestop-corp/summary?id=D000042102

[4] GameStop Corp., Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, "GameStop Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results," filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission March 24, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326380/000132638026000012/a991q4fy25earningsrelease.htm

[5] GameStop Corp., "GameStop Announces Election of Ryan Cohen as Executive Chairman," June 7, 2023.

[6] GameStop Corp., "GameStop Announces Election of Ryan Cohen as Chief Executive Officer," September 28, 2023.

[7] Benzinga, "Chewy Founder, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen Posts 'TRUMP' 665 Times On Elon Musk's X," July 18, 2024. https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/07/39831371/

[8] The Canadian Press, CBC News, "GameStop selling Canadian and French operations as CEO laments 'wokeness and DEI'," February 19, 2025. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/gamestop-selling-canadian-assets-ceo-wokeness-dei-1.7462542

[9] The Hill, "GameStop CEO decries 'wokeness and DEI' as company seeks to sell Canadian and French operations," February 19, 2025. https://thehill.com/business/5152167-gamestop-ceo-attacks-wokeness/

[10] Benzinga, "GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen's Support For Trump Faces New Test After He Posts '$10,000 iPhone' Tweet Amid Market Turmoil And Tariff Fallout," April 8, 2025. https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/25/04/44681205/

[11] GameStop Corp., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission March 24, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326380/000132638026000013/gme-20260131.htm

[12] GameStop Corp., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission March 25, 2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326380/000162828025014731/gme-20250201.htm

[13] CNBC, "GameStop CEO Cohen spurns $35 billion pay plan to focus on eBay deal," June 23, 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/23/gamestop-ceo-cohen-spurns-pay-plan-focus-ebay-deal.html

[14] CNBC, "Ryan Cohen: GameStop could issue stock for eBay takeover," May 4, 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/04/gamestop-ebay-takeover-bid-ryan-cohen-gaming-retail-ecommerce.html

[15] Cecilia D'Anastasio, Edward Ludlow and Spencer Soper, Bloomberg, "Ryan Cohen Vows GameStop Will Pursue eBay Despite Offer Being Rebuffed," July 16, 2026. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-16/gamestop-ceo-ryan-cohen-is-coming-for-ebay-one-way-or-another

[16] MobileSyrup, "GameStop CEO cries about Trump's tariffs after blaming DEI for poor business," April 7, 2025. https://mobilesyrup.com/2025/04/07/gamestop-ceo-trump-tariffs-dei-poor-business/

[17] GameStop Corp., "Careers: Diversity," accessed August 7, 2026. https://careers.gamestop.com/culture/diversity

[18] GameStop Corp., "Careers Privacy Policy," accessed August 7, 2026. https://www.gamestop.com/careersprivacypolicy.html

[19] Game Developer, "GameStop's crypto plans collapse as retailer prepares to shut NFT marketplace," January 2024. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/gamestop-s-crypto-plans-collapse-as-retailer-prepares-to-shut-nft-marketplace