GME Pops 3% After the Bell As CEO Buys $26M Worth of Shares

• After the recent share purchase, Cohen directly owns nearly 40.5 million shares of the company.
• The purchase is the largest insider buy in months.
• On September 10, he bought 1 million shares at an average of about $20.38, spending $20.4 million.

Shares of GameStop Corp (GME) gained 3% after hours on Monday after CEO Ryan Cohen bought over a million class A shares, following a similar purchase earlier this month.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Cohen bought 1.15 million shares in multiple transactions priced between $22.76 and $23.02 for roughly $26.4 million. After the purchase, Cohen directly owns nearly 40.5 million shares of the company

Pattern of CEO’s Recent Purchases

This continues a string of personal purchases Cohen has made this year. On September 10, he bought 1 million shares at an average of about $20.38, spending $20.4 million. In January, he bought another 1 million shares near $21.36.

Combined, the 2026 purchases add more than 3.15 million shares to Cohen’s portfolio. He has not reported selling any GameStop stock in recent filings. Counting extra shares he can receive from company warrants, Cohen’s overall stake is now about 8.7% of GameStop.

Directors Have Been Buying Too

On September 8, the day GameStop reported quarterly results, director Lawrence Cheng bought 55,000 shares at about $18.80, or $1.03 million, through Cheng Capital LLC. A day later, director James Grube also bought 10,255 shares at $19.12, for about $196,000.

Earnings Lift, Stores Still Shrinking

The share purchases follow a mixed quarter. On September 8, GameStop posted second-quarter operating income of $160.2 million, its strongest second quarter on record. Collectibles sales rose 57% to $356.3 million and made up 45% of revenue. Net sales still fell to $790.2 million from $972.2 million a year earlier, hurt by last year's Nintendo Switch 2 launch, store closures, and the sale of French operations. The company raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted core profit outlook to more than $650 million.

In early September, GameStop completed an exchange of $1.4 billion of convertible notes for about 55.5 million shares and $358.4 million in cash, reducing long-term debt to roughly $2.8 billion. The company also pointed to a large balance sheet: $5.4 billion in cash, marketable securities, and digital assets, plus an eBay stake of about 43.4 million shares valued at $4.9 billion. The board has a $2 billion buyback in place.

An unsolicited bid for eBay earlier this year was rejected; Cohen later withdrew a large performance award to keep the focus on that effort.

How Did GME Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around GME stock stayed within the bullish territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed at high levels.

A Stocktwits user speculated that Cohen will take the company private.

Another user said that the stock is not rallying in line with the CEO’s confidence.

GME stock has gained 13% year-to-date. 

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