The Surprise Bid

GameStop, the video game retailer that became famous as the original meme stock, has made a surprise $55.5 billion takeover offer for e-commerce platform eBay. The all-cash-and-stock offer values eBay at $125 per share — a $20 premium over Friday's closing price.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen announced the bid with characteristic ambition, claiming eBay could become "much more successful" under his leadership and even rival Amazon. He also signaled he was prepared to take the offer directly to shareholders if eBay's board rejected it.

Market Skepticism

eBay said it would consider the proposal, but Wall Street analysts were blunt in their assessments. Morgan Stanley noted the two companies have "fundamentally different" business models. Bernstein pointed to GameStop's smaller balance sheet, saying it would be "surprised if anything became of it."

The math is indeed unusual: eBay is worth roughly four times more than GameStop by market capitalization, making this a highly leveraged proposed acquisition.

Two Companies at a Crossroads

GameStop has around 1,600 US retail locations and has posted improving profits under Cohen — net income hit $418.4 million in 2025, up significantly from the prior year, though sales continued to decline. The company has been searching for a new direction as physical game retail shrinks.

eBay, founded in 1995, once dominated online peer-to-peer commerce but has seen its user base erode from 175 million in 2018 to 136 million currently as Amazon and others have intensified competition. Whether GameStop can turn that around — or even close such a deal — remains an open question.

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GameStop Makes Surprise $55.5bn Takeover Bid for eBay