The Long Investor
Airline Captain & Investment Analyst, Technical/Fundamental Analysis
GameStop is dying, and its CEO Ryan Cohen could not explain how it would pay for eBay. Asked by Andrew Ross Sorkin how GameStop would finance the $56 billion acquisition of a company nearly four times its size, Cohen only said 50/50 cash and stock. Covering the roughly $16 billion shortfall would require about 60% dilution and a 150% increase in share count. Michael Burry has already exited. x.com x.com
GameStop has not created value where it matters to shareholders: the share price has been a dog for five years. Much of that came from heavy dilution and from alienating the investor base that drove the stock to parabolic heights. The idea that Ryan Cohen creates shareholder value is revisionist history, whatever the balance-sheet gains. x.com
GameStop's revenue record does not support growth expectations. Revenue missed estimates in five of the last eight quarters. x.com
GameStop's $56 billion, $125-a-share bid for eBay could unlock over $100 billion of value by turning eBay from a stagnant auction site into a true Amazon rival under Ryan Cohen. Synergies span collectibles, trading cards, live commerce and store pickups, plus cost cuts and AI upgrades. Cohen's track record stands out, and the absence of any Wall Street buy rating on GameStop is a strong contrarian buy signal. x.com
GameStop's eBay acquisition, paid half in cash and half in stock, means dilution to oblivion for shareholders. Per @ReesePolitics, Ryan Cohen's CNBC Squawk Box interview on the deal turned into a heated exchange in which Andrew Ross Sorkin was in disbelief at his repetitive answers, and his line that the details are on the website draws ridicule. x.com
GameStop shareholders face about 70% dilution to fund CEO Ryan Cohen's $56 billion offer to buy eBay, with no short squeeze coming. A year ago Cohen was hyping Bitcoin purchases, which raises doubts about whether he knows what he is doing. After that interview, a GameStop shareholder should sell every last share. x.com x.com x.com x.com
GameStop's Ryan Cohen is making one of the most aggressive streaks of insider purchases relative to market cap over such a short period. He bought another 700,000 shares at an average $24.41, about $17.1M, per an SEC Form 4 reported by @ReesePolitics, a show of conviction that ignores rising yields. x.com
GameStop shareholders are likely to be diluted to fill a funding gap of more than $10B. Its CEO implied as much in an interview without saying it outright, which is most likely why the stock reversed course. x.com
GameStop lacks the money for its eBay bid, and Ryan Cohen's interview suggests he is using retail investors as exit liquidity. The proposal offers $125 per eBay share, half cash and half GameStop stock, valuing eBay equity at $55.5 billion, with a TD Securities letter for up to $20 billion of financing. The interview sent GameStop shares lower. x.com
GameStop looks like a reasonable bet despite misgivings about CEO Ryan Cohen, because it holds a ton of cash and is not buying eBay. x.com
GameStop will go lower after hitting new 52-week lows, with $14-$16 the likely floor. If Ryan Cohen doesn't inspire shareholder confidence, it could fall as low as $10, and hedge funds love shorting it. x.com