NEW YORK, May 4, 2026, 07:03 (EDT)
EBay stock jumped in premarket action Monday, though prices remained far under GameStop Corp.’s $125-per-share bid—an indication that Wall Street isn’t buying the idea of the smaller videogame chain pulling off a $56 billion acquisition. GameStop slipped around 3%.
That gap tells you everything. GameStop wants to pivot out of its fading mall legacy and become an online commerce player. But eBay clocks in at close to four times GameStop’s market cap, so the move stands out—a smaller public firm going after a much heftier target.
The bid comes while GameStop’s main business is still feeling pressure. Fourth-quarter revenue fell 14% in March, with more gamers choosing downloads, streaming, and online sales. CEO Ryan Cohen has trimmed expenses and tried to steer the company into collectibles and trading cards, but the shift hasn’t reversed the trend.
GameStop on Sunday floated a non-binding bid to acquire all of eBay, offering $125 per share in a mix of cash and stock—split down the middle. That values eBay’s undiluted equity at roughly $55.5 billion, according to GameStop, and marks a 46% premium over eBay’s “unaffected” closing price from Feb. 4, the day GameStop began accumulating its stake. GameStop Investor Relations
GameStop disclosed it holds a 5% economic interest in eBay, combining derivatives and common stock. These derivatives track eBay’s share price. The company said it will file both a Schedule 13D, required for U.S. investors crossing the 5% ownership mark, and a Hart-Scott-Rodino notification for antitrust review on sizable deals.
Financing stands as the first major hurdle. GameStop pointed to roughly $9.4 billion in cash and liquid investments on its balance sheet as of Jan. 31, alongside third-party acquisition financing. That includes a “highly-confident” letter from TD Securities, backing up to $20 billion. In banking terms, that signals a lender’s belief funding can be secured, but it’s no binding merger deal. GameStop Investor Relations
Cohen pitched the move as a chance to bulk up eBay against Amazon. “It could be a legit competitor to Amazon,” he told the Wall Street Journal, Reuters reported. GameStop, for its part, argued that its 1,600 U.S. locations could support eBay with authentication, intake, fulfillment, and live commerce. Reuters
He pushed the point during the interview. “Ebay should be worth – and will be worth – a lot more money,” Cohen told listeners. “I’m thinking about turning eBay into something worth hundreds of billions of dollars.” eBay didn’t provide any immediate comment on the offer, according to Reuters. Reuters
This isn’t a turnaround case. EBay posted first-quarter revenue of $3.1 billion last week, a 19% climb, with gross merchandise volume reaching $22.2 billion, up 18%. That figure captures the total value of goods sold on its marketplace. Operating cash flow from continuing operations came in at $970 million.
Still, the risks aren’t hard to spot. Bernstein analysts highlighted “significant financing challenges” for GameStop, pointing to its lighter balance sheet and the scale of both debt and equity that would be required. They added they’d be “even more surprised if anything became of it.” Over at Reuters, investor Michael Burry weighed in, calling a full takeover tough for GameStop to pull off given the gap in valuation. Reuters
GameStop’s latest numbers underscore why Cohen might be eyeing a bigger stage. Net sales slid to $3.63 billion for fiscal 2025, down from $3.82 billion the previous year. Still, net income climbed to $418.4 million, and the company’s pile of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities jumped, reaching $9.0 billion at the end of the fourth quarter—twice what it held a year ago.
So far, this remains a proposal. GameStop noted the deal faces standard closing conditions, cautioning in its filing that there’s no guarantee eBay’s board will come to the table, financing will materialize, regulators will sign off, shareholders will get on board, or that the touted cost savings will actually happen.
