GameStop Didn’t Profit from the Surge of Their Stocks

The WallStreetBets vs. Wall Street saga seems to be nearing an end. What began as an unprecedented rise in GameStop’s stock prices to $480 per share due to a collective action by the subreddit WallStreetBets, is now ending with stock prices at $53 per share. Keep in mind, this price is still higher than what GameStop started the year with.

While plenty of people made some serious money due to the stock surge, GameStop itself wasn’t one of them. According to sources who spoke to Reuters, the video game retail chain did think about selling their shares due to the spike in prices but ultimately decided against it.

“GameStop decided it was restricted under U.S. financial regulations from selling shares because it had not yet updated investors on its earnings. The SEC requires companies to have released such information when conducting stock sales.”

Reuters

To further complicate things, GameStop had already filed with the SEC in December to sell $100 million in shares, but declined to go through with that decision in January. To change its mind again, the store chain would have to issue an interim earnings report to notify its current shareholders of its plans, but this route too came with “significant logistical hurdles and regulatory risks”.

Had GameStop decided to sell its shares, it could have used the profits to help pay their debts or transform their brick-and-mortar system of working to a fully digital one. GameStop may decide to sell its shares in the future, given that the stock prices remain constant and don’t see any sharp dips in the near future.

With one of the biggest news events of the year so far coming to end, we look back fondly on all the memes, predictions, and theories it helped to create. We’re even getting some movies because of this. We also understand just how powerful a tool social media and the internet have become. After all, it did SHUT DOWN Wall Street.