Five years after the meme stock frenzy made GameStop a household name, CEO Ryan Cohen is preparing what may be the most audacious corporate transformation in recent memory: acquiring a publicly traded company far larger than the $11 billion video game retailer in a deal he admits could be "genius or totally, totally foolish."

In a revealing interview with CNBC, Cohen outlined plans to use GameStop's $9 billion cash pile—accumulated through stock sales during the 2021 trading frenzy and subsequent offerings—to execute a "very, very, very big" acquisition that would fundamentally reshape the company's business and potentially boost its market capitalization tenfold.

The Berkshire Model, Accelerated

Cohen's vision draws explicit inspiration from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. "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," Cohen told CNBC.

The comparison is audacious. Buffett built Berkshire over 60 years through hundreds of acquisitions, patient capital allocation, and legendary investment acumen. Cohen is proposing to achieve similar scale in a fraction of the time with a video game retailer that has struggled to find its footing in an increasingly digital world.

"I believe in Ryan. I like the setup, the governance, the strategy as I see it. I believe the stock could rise if Cohen uses $10 billion or more to acquire a strong business, such as an insurer with significant investable customer premiums."

— Michael Burry, hedge fund investor and 'Big Short' fame

The $35 Billion Incentive

Cohen's personal incentives are aligned with his ambitious rhetoric. Under his compensation package, the CEO stands to receive stock options worth $35 billion if GameStop reaches a $100 billion market capitalization—nearly ten times its current value—while also achieving $2 billion in cumulative EBITDA from the first quarter of 2026 onward.

The structure creates enormous personal upside for Cohen if the transformation succeeds, while shareholders bear the risk if it fails. It's the kind of bet-the-company compensation arrangement that produces either legendary wealth or cautionary tales.

What GameStop Might Buy

Cohen has been deliberately vague about potential targets, noting only that GameStop is seeking a "publicly traded consumer company" larger than itself. Speculation has centered on several possibilities:

  • Insurance companies: Burry specifically mentioned insurers with "investable customer premiums"—a Berkshire-style approach
  • Retail consolidation: Struggling retailers with real estate assets and established customer bases
  • E-commerce platforms: Digital businesses that could leverage GameStop's brand and customer loyalty
  • Consumer brands: Companies with strong but undermonetized brand equity

The Bitcoin Question

GameStop has invested a portion of its cash pile in Bitcoin, raising questions about whether cryptocurrency profits would help fund acquisitions. When asked if GameStop would liquidate its Bitcoin holdings for a deal, Cohen was noncommittal but suggested his new strategy is "way more compelling than bitcoin."

The comment suggests Cohen views the acquisition path as GameStop's primary value creation mechanism going forward, though he stopped short of committing to sell the cryptocurrency holdings.

Skeptics Abound

Not everyone shares Burry's enthusiasm. Michael Pachter, a managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities who has long been skeptical of GameStop, assigned near-zero odds to Cohen achieving the $100 billion target.

"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," Pachter told reporters. His skepticism centers on Cohen's lack of a demonstrated competitive advantage beyond GameStop's cash position.

Other concerns include:

  • Acquisition premiums: Large public companies typically require 30-50% premiums to approve deals
  • Integration challenges: Transformational mergers frequently destroy value through execution failures
  • Management depth: GameStop's team has limited experience with large-scale M&A
  • Shareholder dilution: Major acquisitions often require issuing new shares

The Meme Stock Legacy

GameStop's current position is itself a product of market irrationality. The 2021 short squeeze that sent shares above $400 created paper wealth that the company converted into real cash through well-timed stock offerings. That cash now funds Cohen's ambitions.

In a sense, the retail traders who drove GameStop's improbable rally provided the ammunition for Cohen's transformation attempt. Whether that investment pays off depends entirely on execution—something that remains entirely theoretical until Cohen reveals his actual target.

What Comes Next

Cohen's CNBC interview provided vision but few specifics. Shareholders don't know what GameStop might buy, when a deal might happen, or at what price. What they know is that their CEO is swinging for the fences with a strategy that will either justify years of patience or prove that some market dislocations create more opportunity than underlying value.

For investors considering GameStop shares, the fundamental question is whether to bet on Cohen's dealmaking abilities or on the skeptics who see a video game retailer trying to punch far above its weight. The answer may determine whether GameStop becomes a case study in transformation—or in hubris.