CEO Acquires Another 1 Million Shares… 'Meme Stock' GME Sees Market Cap Surge by 1 Trillion Won in a Day

Shares of GameStop Corp. (GME) closed at $23.14 on the New York Stock Exchange on January 22, up 6.69% from the previous trading session. The company’s market capitalization reached about $10.3 billion (approximately KRW 13.5 trillion), with roughly $740 million (nearly KRW 1 trillion) in market value added that day alone. Trading volume was around 9 million shares, signaling a renewed surge in short-term demand.

The sharp price jump was largely driven by a disclosure that CEO and Chairman Ryan Cohen purchased an additional 1 million shares over two days, increasing his stake to about 9.3%. Cohen invested roughly $21.4 million of his own capital (around KRW 30 billion), and as a result, GME call-option buying also spiked well above normal levels on the 22nd.

Meanwhile, GameStop is slated to close an additional 300 to 400 U.S. stores in early 2026. In tandem with these closures, a controversial proposal would award Cohen up to $35 billion (approximately KRW 45 trillion) in performance-based stock if the company attains a $100 billion market cap and meets ambitious profit targets.

GameStop, the largest video-game retailer in the U.S., became a standout “meme stock” during the 2021 retail investor–driven short squeeze. With its brick-and-mortar–focused model under pressure from the shift to digital downloads and calls for restructuring, Cohen—who took the helm in 2023—is pursuing an e-commerce transformation, cost reductions, and a high-risk, high-reward compensation structure to reposition the company as a growth stock.