GameStop CEO Cohen spurns $35 billion pay plan to focus on eBay deal

June 23, 2026 4:28 PM EDT

GameStop logo is seen in this illustration taken September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

June 23 (Reuters) - Ryan Cohen, ‌the billionaire ​CEO ​of GameStop, will not receive a potential performance award from the videogame retailer and plans to ‌unveil more details about his bid to takeover eBay ⁠soon, the company said on Tuesday.

GameStop unveiled a compensation package worth roughly $35 ‌billion for Cohen in ‌January, hinging on a turnaround that requires him to lift the struggling company's market value more than tenfold and ​sharply boost its profit.

EBay rejected a $56 billion takeover bid from the much smaller GameStop in May, citing financing ⁠doubts and calling the proposal "neither credible nor attractive."

Cohen on Tuesday said he wants the ​company's leadership to be fully focused on GameStop's operating performance and the acquisition.

The company said it ​would release additional materials regarding its ‌proposed acquisition of eBay this week, including a detailed presentation of the strategic rationale and ⁠operational plan for the combined company.

Cohen, who joined the GameStop board in January 2021 and became the CEO in September 2023, ⁠has steered the company through a period that saw its return to ​profitability through aggressive cost cutting, which included shuttering hundreds of stores.

Earlier this month, GameStop posted a 14% rise in quarterly revenue, buoyed by ‌strong collectibles demand, and said its board approved a new $2 billion share repurchase program.

For the ‌first quarter ended May 2, GameStop's net sales came in ⁠at $835.3 million, compared with $732.4 million ‌a year ago.

(Reporting ​by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Sahal ‌Muhammed)



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