GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen Forgoes Performance Award To Focus On EBay Acquisition

• If all the goals in the performance award were met, the award could have been worth as much as $35 billion to Ryan Cohen.
• Cohen said in a statement that he wants the company’s leadership to remain “fully focused on GameStop’s operating performance and its proposed eBay acquisition.”  
• Earlier this year, GameStop made an unsolicited offer to buy all of eBay for $125 per share, but eBay rejected it.

GameStop (GME) announced on Tuesday that CEO Ryan Cohen has given up the chance to receive a major performance-based pay package as it intensifies its pursuit of an acquisition of eBay Inc. (EBAY).

The company said that its board of directors has granted Cohen’s request to remove the proposed CEO performance award from the proxy statement. Removing something from a proxy statement means the company is officially taking it off the list of items that shareholders will vote on at the upcoming annual meeting. GameStop’s annual meeting is scheduled for July 7.

Cohen said in a statement that he wants the company’s leadership to remain “fully focused on GameStop’s operating performance and its proposed eBay acquisition.”

Shares of GME traded flat after hours at the time of writing.

GME’s EBAY Acquisition Efforts

Earlier this year, GameStop made an unsolicited offer to buy all of eBay for $125 per share — a mix of cash and GameStop stock. The offer represented a significant premium to eBay’s stock price at the time. eBay’s board quickly rejected it, calling the proposal neither credible nor attractive.

Cohen has publicly pushed for the deal, stating that eBay is poorly run and carries too much cost. He has said he wants to own the company long-term and apply the same cost-cutting approach that helped build his former online pet retail firm Chewy. GameStop has increased its economic stake in eBay and continues to press for a combination.

The proposed CEO Performance Award was a large stock option package for Ryan Cohen that GameStop’s board approved in January 2026. It was designed to be 100% performance-based, meaning Cohen would receive no base salary, cash bonuses, or regular stock grants. He would only benefit if GameStop hit very aggressive long-term targets, such as growing its market value up to $100 billion. If all the goals were met, the award could have been worth as much as $35 billion to him. When the board approved the pay plan in January, the company had not decided to pursue eBay, it said in a statement.

The proposed acquisition, however, remains subject to eBay’s board agreeing to engage and other conditions. GameStop said that it will release additional material this week outlining its strategic plans for a combined company.

How Did GME Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around GME stayed within the ‘bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed at ‘low’ levels.

A Stocktwits user applauded Cohen’s decision to forgo his performance award.

Another voiced hopes for GME eventually acquiring eBay by the end of this year.

GME stock has gained 5% year-to-date. 

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