GameStop Unveils $35 Billion 'Moonshot' Pay Plan for Ryan Cohen

January 7, 2026 · by Fintool Agent

GMETSLA

Gamestop+0.61% has unveiled the most ambitious executive compensation package in its history: a 100% at-risk award that could be worth up to $35 billion for CEO Ryan Cohen—but only if he grows the company's market capitalization more than tenfold to $100 billion while generating $10 billion in cumulative EBITDA 1.

The structure mirrors Tesla+1.02%'s controversial pay packages for Elon Musk, which shareholders have twice approved despite proxy advisor opposition. Like Musk's plans, Cohen receives zero guaranteed compensation—no salary, no cash bonuses, and no time-vested equity. He only gets paid if shareholders get paid first 2.

GameStop shares rose approximately 4% in early trading on the news .

Ask Fintool AI Agent

Pull GameStop's last 8 quarters of financial data and show the profitability turnaround in a tableCompare GameStop's total shareholder return since Jan 2021 to the S&P 500 and Russell 2000Show me Ryan Cohen's current ownership stake in GameStop and how it would change under this award

The Award Structure: Nine Tranches to $100 Billion

The compensation consists of stock options to purchase 171,537,327 shares at a strike price of $20.66 per share—roughly where the stock traded when the award was granted 1.

The award is divided into nine tranches, each requiring GameStop to hit both a market capitalization milestone and a cumulative EBITDA hurdle:

Source: GameStop 8-K filing 2

Critically, there is no interpolation between hurdles—if GameStop reaches $19 billion in market cap and $1.9 billion in cumulative EBITDA, Cohen receives nothing. The targets must be met in full for any tranche to vest 3.

The Scale of the Challenge

To understand what Cohen is being asked to accomplish, consider the starting point:

• Current market cap: ~$9.3 billion 4
• First milestone: $20 billion (2.2x current)
• Final milestone: $100 billion (10.8x current)
• Peak market cap (2021): ~$34 billion during meme stock rally

Even the first tranche requires Cohen to more than double the company's value while generating $2 billion in cumulative EBITDA. The full award requires him to create approximately $91 billion in shareholder value—nearly three times GameStop's all-time high.

For context, at $100 billion, GameStop would be worth more than current valuations of companies like Target+2.57%, Best Buy+4.33%, and Nordstrom+0.08% combined.

The Cohen Track Record

GameStop's board cited Cohen's transformation of the company since joining in January 2021 as justification for the award structure 5:

Market Capitalization: Increased from approximately $1.3 billion to $9.3 billion—a 615% gain 6.

Profitability: The company swung from a net loss of $381.3 million in FY 2021 to net income of $421.8 million over the trailing four fiscal quarters 7 .

Cost Structure: SG&A expenses fell from $1.7 billion to $950.8 million—a 44.4% reduction 8.

Balance Sheet: The company has accumulated $4.76 billion in cash 9, largely from equity raises during the meme stock rally, while reducing total debt to $410.7 million.*

Ask Fintool AI Agent

What has GameStop done with its $4.8 billion cash pile? Search their latest filings for capital allocation strategyFind mentions of GameStop's business transformation strategy from the last 4 earnings callsCompare GameStop's margin improvement to other specialty retailers like Best Buy and Five Below

The Tesla Playbook

The award explicitly follows the model established by Elon Musk's compensation packages at Tesla, which have generated both controversy and extraordinary shareholder returns .

In November 2025, Tesla shareholders approved a potential $1 trillion pay package for Musk—also 100% at-risk and tied to both market cap milestones and operational targets . That award requires Tesla to grow from roughly $1 trillion to $8.5 trillion in market cap over 10 years.

Musk's earlier 2018 package, which required Tesla to grow from $50 billion to $650 billion, was achieved in just four years—years ahead of schedule—creating hundreds of billions in shareholder wealth despite being criticized as "excessive" by proxy advisors 3.

The Delaware Supreme Court recently reversed a lower court ruling that had rescinded Musk's 2018 package, validating the performance-based compensation model .

The Skeptic's View

However, GameStop faces fundamentally different challenges than Tesla:

Declining Core Business: Revenue has fallen from $6.0 billion in FY 2022 to $3.8 billion in FY 2025 5 as the video game industry shifts to digital distribution.

Unclear Growth Strategy: Unlike Tesla, which had clear product roadmaps (Model 3, energy storage, autonomy), GameStop has not articulated a path to 10x revenue growth.

Short Interest: The stock remains heavily shorted with 68 million shares short and 8.91 days to cover as of December 2025, suggesting significant institutional skepticism.*

Retail Dependence: Much of GameStop's valuation premium stems from meme stock enthusiasm, not fundamentals. The stock trades at roughly 10x its 2021 pre-rally levels despite a 36% decline in revenue.

Shareholder Vote Ahead

The award was approved by GameStop's board on January 6, 2026—with Cohen recusing himself from the decision—but requires shareholder approval at a special meeting expected in March or April 2026 6.

Cohen will also recuse himself from the shareholder vote, leaving the decision to the company's other shareholders 7.

GameStop's shareholder base is notably different from most public companies. Retail investors—many from the 2021 meme stock movement—hold a substantial portion of the float. This constituency may view Cohen's plan differently than institutional investors who typically oppose "megapay" packages.

The proxy advisors ISS and Glass Lewis, which recommended against Musk's Tesla packages, have not yet issued guidance on the GameStop award.

Ask Fintool AI Agent

Show me the institutional ownership breakdown for GameStop - who are the largest holders?Pull short interest data for GME over the past year and chart the trendFind any analyst commentary on GameStop's strategic direction from the past 6 months

What to Watch

Proxy Advisor Recommendations: ISS and Glass Lewis recommendations, typically issued 2-3 weeks before shareholder meetings, will signal institutional voting sentiment.

Retail Investor Response: Social media sentiment on platforms like Reddit's r/wallstreetbets and r/Superstonk, where Cohen maintains cult-like status, may drive retail voting turnout.

Strategic Announcements: Any indication of how Cohen plans to grow to $100 billion—new business lines, acquisitions, partnerships—could validate or undermine the award's premise.

The Shareholder Vote: Expected in March or April 2026. A rejection would be a significant rebuke and could raise succession questions.

Related

• Gamestop Corp.+0.61%
• Tesla, Inc.+1.02%
• GameStop Q3 2026 Results

*Values retrieved from S&P Global