GameStop. The meme stock paid for it.
Reddit traders pumped GameStop from 5 dollars to 400. Now GameStop is using that money to bid 56 billion dollars for eBay.
THE GIST ON GAMESTOP: "Insert Coin"
How did a dying chain get rich?
GameStop is a mall chain selling video games, a grim industry, and by 2020 it was dying. Then Reddit traders pumped the stock, as a joke, to try to screw Wall Street. Ryan Cohen, the new chairman, treated it as a chance to raise money. Every time the stock went up, they printed new shares and sold them.
Who was really winning?
The traders thought they were beating Wall Street, but they were really funding GameStop. The company raised 9 billion dollars, and a dying mall retailer became one of the most cash-rich companies in retail.
What now?
Last week Ryan Cohen used that cash to put in a 56 billion dollar bid to buy eBay. Then he started listing dirty socks on eBay to pay for eBay, and they banned him within 24 hours.
Update since we filmed this: eBay have rejected the deal, and Cohen went on Piers Morgan and said eBay needed to go on a Zen retreat.
What do manias leave behind?
Every market mania ends the same way: buyers think they're winning, and the sellers know they are. But manias lay the foundations for future industries. The dotcom bubble built the infrastructure Amazon runs on. The crypto boom funded the data centres training today's AI. The meme stock craze funded a 56 billion dollar eBay bid.
Was the GameStop squeeze a win for ordinary people?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
How did GameStop raise 9 billion dollars?
Each time the stock rose, it printed new shares and sold them.
What did GameStop bid for eBay?
56 billion dollars. eBay has since rejected it.
What do bubbles leave behind?
Infrastructure: the dotcom bubble built what Amazon runs on, and the crypto boom funded the data centres training AI.
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