GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen could be set for a $35 billion payday – with one big caveat
By Ramishah Maruf, CNN
New York (CNN) — Betting big on memestocks could pay off, at least for GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen. But a potentially huge payout hinges on a massive turnaround for the volatile video game retailer.
Cohen could receive a pay package worth $35 billion in performance-based stock options, the company’s board announced on Wednesday. The award is “designed to incentivize Mr. Cohen to achieve extraordinary growth,” meaning he only gets the package if GameStop’s market cap hits $100 billion (about ten times its current value) and its cumulative earnings — before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — reach $10 billion.
Cohen gets “no guaranteed pay—no salary, no cash bonuses, and no stock that vests simply over time. Instead, his compensation is entirely ‘at-risk,’ meaning he will only be paid if the Company achieves significant market and operational goals,” according to an SEC filing on Wednesday.
The plan “ensures that Mr. Cohen’s incentives are directly aligned with creating long-term value for GameStop’s stockholders,” according to the filing. It’s a structure that echoes Elon Musk’s enormous plan at Tesla.
GameStop has been through a wild ride since Cohen became CEO in 2021.
The company became synonymous with the memestock frenzy in 2021, when day traders stuck it to the company’s short-sellers and fueled up to a 2,000% surge. The meme mania made a comeback in 2024 when a post by memestock leader “RoaringKitty” set off another burst.
The company also shuttered hundreds of stores in the last couple years, struggling to adapt to consumers’ changing habit of buying games online. As part of its pivot away from retail, GameStop has heavily invested its cash in cryptocurrencies.
GameStop’s stock value was approximately $1.3 billion in 2021. Now it’s roughly $9.3 billion, according to the SEC filing.
The-CNN-Wire
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