GameStop Announces 100% ‘At-Risk’ Performance Award For CEO Ryan Cohen: GME Stock Gains Pre-Market

• The company stated that the performance award to Cohen is divided across nine tranches, with vesting based on clearing the market capitalization and operational milestone hurdles.
• Cohen’s award will vest only if GameStop’s market capitalization and operational milestones are met in full for each hurdle, according to the company.
• Explaining the “at-risk” component, GameStop stated that Cohen will receive no guaranteed pay, meaning he will not receive a salary, cash bonuses, or stock that vests simply over time.

GameStop Corp. (GME) on Wednesday announced a new 100% “at-risk” long-term performance award for CEO Ryan Cohen, incentivizing him to achieve “significant performance goals.”

The company stated that the award will fully vest if GameStop’s market capitalization reaches $100 billion and its Cumulative Performance earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) reach $10 billion.

GameStop shares were up more than 5% in Wednesday’s pre-market trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company trended in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

Award Over Nine Tranches

The company stated that the performance award to Cohen is divided into nine tranches, with vesting contingent on clearing market capitalization and operational milestone hurdles.

Explaining how this works, GameStop stated that the first tranche vests only if GameStop achieves a market capitalization of $20 billion. Each subsequent tranche requires an additional $10 billion increase in market capitalization, up to $100 billion in total.

Cohen will also have to achieve operational milestones. The first tranche requires a Cumulative Performance EBITDA of $2.0 billion, with targets increasing for each subsequent tranche up to a cumulative amount of $10 billion.

Cohen’s award will vest only if GameStop’s market capitalization and operational milestones are met in full for each hurdle, according to the company.

Explaining the “at-risk” component, GameStop stated that Cohen will receive no guaranteed pay, meaning he will not receive a salary, cash bonuses, or stock that vests simply over time.

Shareholders To Vote On Proposal

GameStop added that the proposed performance award for Cohen will be put to a shareholder vote at an upcoming meeting in March or April 2026.

Cohen, who is the chairman of GameStop, had recused himself from the board when the performance award was created, the company said. He would also recuse himself during the shareholder vote.

GME stock is up 3% year-to-date, but down 37% over the past 12 months.

Also See: Why Is APLD Stock Rising Today?

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