Yorkville Ives: 'GameStop Is Becoming the Hobby's Intake Network'

Yorkville Ives analyst Dan Ives reiterated an Outperform rating and $32.00 price target on GameStop (NYSE: GME).

The analyst comments "GameStop continues its shift from legacy video-game retail into a leaner, profitable collectibles platform, with collectibles now approaching half of the sales mix. GameStop’s edge in trading cards is infrastructure rather than merchandising: a national store network, a decades-old trade-in culture, and an enthusiast base that already treats the store as a place to buy, sell, and swap. The PSA relationship layers authentication onto that footprint, turning each participating store into an intake point for a grading service collectors would otherwise access only by mail. PSA is one of the largest graders in the hobby, with more than 19 million cards graded in 2025, and its slabs are among the most liquid in the category. A growing graded-card inventory and trade-in capability then convert one-time purchases into repeat, higher-value transactions, a flywheel in which grading drives inventory, inventory drives trade-ins, and trade-ins drive traffic. Power Packs extends the same loop online, connecting digital pack openings to real PSA-graded cards that can be vaulted, shipped, or resold, giving GameStop a recurring digital touchpoint between store visits. GameStop does not need to win on the pack itself, since it discloses that over a large sample the estimated value of cards in each pack is substantially equivalent to the pack price. The margin is built into the loop that follows. Instant Buyback repurchases cards at 90% of fair market value less a 6% selling fee, a spread of roughly 15%, and the proceeds land in a wallet that funds the next pack, while vaulted cards stay one click from a future buyback or resale. Each card also has two outside exits, a listing to eBay via the Collection tab or PSA Offers from verified partners, so customers are never stuck holding an illiquid asset, and the buyback path returns both the card and the proceeds to GameStop’s ecosystem. That exit liquidity is what lets GameStop earn on the cycle rather than the pack, and it is the same property that makes in-store trade-ins work. In effect, GameStop’s stores are becoming a distributed intake and authentication network for a broader collectibles ecosystem."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on GameStop click here. For more ratings news on GameStop click here.

Shares of GameStop closed at $28.02 yesterday.

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