GameStop Reaffirms eBay Takeover Bid, Raises FY2026 Earnings Outlook

By: Cris Tolomia Source: Quartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images Reading Time: 2 minutes

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GameStop announced on Friday that it remains committed to acquiring eBay, despite the e-commerce company's rejection of its unsolicited takeover offer. The video game retailer also projected a strong earnings year ahead.

Fiscal 2026 Outlook

Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal year 2026 (ending January 30, 2027) is projected to exceed $600 million — a significant increase from the $345.4 million reported in fiscal year 2025. GameStop's stock rose more than 2% in after-hours trading.

Takeover Pursuit

Friday's short regulatory filing reiterated the company's commitment to pursuing the eBay deal, noting that further documentation related to the proposed transaction will be released in the coming days. However, beyond affirming its intent, GameStop offered no explanation of how it plans to move the deal forward, according to Reuters.

GameStop had previously stated it planned to release a detailed presentation this week outlining the strategic rationale and operational plan for combining the two businesses.

Details of the Proposal

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen submitted a non-binding proposal in May to purchase all of eBay's outstanding shares at $125 per share, split evenly between cash and GameStop stock. This placed eBay's equity value at approximately $55.5 billion.

Key points of the proposal included:

• $9.4 billion in GameStop's cash reserves
• Up to $20 billion in debt backed by a commitment letter from TD Securities
• Cohen's intention to lead the merged company as CEO, forgoing salary and cash bonuses

eBay's Response

eBay's board rejected the proposal, calling it "neither credible nor attractive," and raised objections regarding:

• How the deal would be financed
• How the combined company would be managed
• The structure of Cohen's compensation

GameStop, with a market value of roughly $10 billion, is attempting to acquire a company approximately five times its size — a gap that has drawn skepticism from investors and analysts about where the remaining funding would come from.

Compensation and Financing Developments

A January bonus arrangement worth up to $35 billion — contingent on milestones including pushing GameStop's market capitalization to $100 billion — was scrapped at Cohen's request earlier this week. GameStop stated that when its board approved the pay plan, the company had not yet decided to pursue eBay.

Separately, remarks Cohen made during a podcast appearance suggested he may personally inject $500 million into the deal. However, CNBC noted that this amount would address only a fraction of the overall financing shortfall.

Current Holdings

As of Friday's filing, GameStop directly holds 4,343,725 shares of eBay common stock and has entered into derivatives arrangements providing economic exposure to a further 39,046,658 shares.

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