ewsba.se
On Sunday, May 3, GameStop (NYSE: GME) announced it had made an unsolicited offer to acquire the global online marketplace eBay for roughly $55.5 billion (1). CNBC interviewed Gamestop CEO Ryan Cohen the following day, asking him to explain to the audience how GameStop could realistically afford to buy out and run eBay, which is a much larger company.
His answers came off as rude, awkward, defensive, and ultimately unhelpful. If Cohen was hoping to win over investors with his answers, he was in for a rude awakening. After, the gaming retailer's stock dropped over 10% after Cohen's interview on CNBC's news program Squawk Box (3).
Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
Robert Kiyosaki says this 1 asset will surge 400% in a year and begs investors not to miss this ‘explosion’
Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here’s how to fix it ASAP
Here's why investors feel on edge after Cohen's interview.
In the Squawk Box interview, co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin asks for details on how GameStop would come up with the funds for the $55.5 billion bid.
"Half cash, half stock, but the details are on our website," Cohen answers (4).
Sorkin responds by laying out the math. Using rounded numbers, he explains that GameStop's market cap was around $11 billion, and it has about $9 billion in cash reserves. TD Securities has provided GameStop with a $20 billion financing letter (2). But this still leaves the company roughly $15 or $16 billion short of its bid.
Sorkin points out that even though TD's letter states that it's confident it could provide the $20 billion, it's not a locked-in deal.
"Yeah, we'll see what happens," Cohen says, eliciting an uncomfortable laugh from Sorkin (5).
"I hear you. I understand that. I'm just trying to understand where the rest of the money would come from," Sorkin replies.
The interview continues, with Sorkin and co-anchor Becky Quick asking for basic details, and Cohen repeatedly saying that the bid will consist of half cash, half stocks, and that people can go to the website for details.
In the interview, Cohen confirms that he didn't reach out to eBay before placing a bid publicly, and eBay hasn't explicitly stated that it wants to sell. When Sorkin asks why he didn't approach eBay directly, Cohen says, "For obvious reasons. eBay is a public company. There's all kinds of perverse financial incentives, from the board to the management team. So there's only one way to approach something like this (6)."
Sorkin also asks for evidence that Cohen knows how to run a larger consumer business such as eBay, the CEO became defensive.
"I don't know, I mean, didn't you guys call for GameStop's demise multiple times?" Cohen says to the CNBC host. "Like, it should have been dead by now. Well, look at our financial performance. Is it better than you guys anticipated? Because you guys said it was going to be doing really, really poorly, and it's actually doing OK (7)."
Analysts at Bernstein Private Wealth Management addressed the bid in a note to clients, stating that besides the two companies' overlap in games and collectibles, the reasoning behind GameStop wanting to buy eBay is hazy. The firm also said that, overall, eBay CEO Jamie Iannone has done a good job executing new strategies (8).
"Why disrupt things?" Bernstein analysts wrote. "The turnaround is working (9)."
On Friday, May 1, GameStop stock closed at $26.53 per share (10). Cohen gave the CNBC interview on Monday, May 4, and the stock fell by over 10% on Monday (11).
The stock fell a little lower on Tuesday before creeping back up on Wednesday. Shares are selling for less than before the interview, but the stock reached over $25 on Wednesday. This is still an improvement from the beginning of 2026, when it hovered around $20 per share (12).
GameStop's stock performance this week serves as a reminder that investors should be wary of panic-selling when a stock price dips. If you hold GameStop shares in your portfolio and saw values plunge by over 10% on Monday, you may have been worried. But it only took a few days for the stock to begin recovering.
Whether Gamestop stock fully recovers or shows signs of longer-term issues may be something investors are monitoring, but the dip in price highlights how a CEO's perceived competency and long-term plans can impact a public company's stock price.
Millionaires under 43 are reshaping investing — just 25% of their portfolios are in stocks. Here’s where their money is going
Taxes are going to change for retirees under Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ — here are 4 reasons you can’t afford to waste time
Robert Kiyosaki issues grim warning for baby boomers: many could be ‘wiped out’ and homeless ‘all over’ the country
Vanguard’s outlook on U.S. stocks is raising alarm bells for retirees. Here’s why and how to protect yourself
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
GameStop Investor Relations (1),(2); Yahoo Finance (3),(10),(11),(12); YouTube (4),(5),(6),(7); CNBC (8),(9)
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: GameStop stock is plummeting after its CEO's bizarre interview left investors feeling uncertain about his eBay plans
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.