GameStop (NYSE:GME) is back on traders’ radars after Michael Burry revealed he’s been snapping up shares. The stock jumped 6% as markets digested the idea that the Big Short star is planting a flag in one of Wall Street’s most polarizing names.
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In a post on Substack, Burry said, “I own GME. I have been buying recently,” explaining that he thinks he’s getting in around “1x tangible book value / 1x net asset value.” But this isn’t a quick trade for him. His bet is less about hype and more about who’s running the company and how they’re using its cash.
“I am not counting on a short squeeze to realize long-term value. I believe in Ryan,” Burry wrote, pointing to CEO Ryan Cohen’s governance and capital allocation and making it clear he’s willing to sit tight for years to see how the story plays out.
To understand why Burry’s move matters, you have to look at what GameStop has been through over the past five years. In early 2021, the struggling video game retailer became the center of a historic short squeeze that nearly broke the plumbing of the financial system. Thomas Peterffy, founder of Interactive Brokers, later said that if forced share recalls had cascaded through the market, brokers might have been forced to “bid it up to infinity,” adding bluntly, “Wall Street would have collapsed.”
GameStop’s stock hit a split-adjusted peak of $120.75 in January 2021 – the same day brokerages like Robinhood halted purchases due to clearinghouse deposit requirements. Regulators later called the episode a market failure and pushed through reforms, including shortening settlement time to T+1. Yet, Peterffy warned that many of the mechanisms that allowed short interest to exceed available shares still remain.
Ryan Cohen joined the board in January 2021 and later became chairman and CEO. Without that intervention, Cohen has said, “The business would be bankrupt by now, that’s for sure.” Instead, the company used its inflated stock price to raise billions in equity, pay down debt, and build a massive cash cushion. By the third quarter of 2025, GameStop held $8.8 billion in cash and marketable securities, plus $519 million in Bitcoin, against $4.16 billion in long-term debt.
Even critics acknowledge the turnaround on the balance sheet. Legendary short seller Jim Chanos noted that GameStop “liquefied their balance sheet and gave themselves a cushion,” calling it a smart move many meme stocks failed to replicate.
Overall, Burry’s bet suggests the GameStop story may be entering a new chapter – one less about rebellion and more about valuation, cash, and patience. (See GME stock analysis)
