GameStop says CEO compensation package doesn’t include any guaranteed pay

GameStop is providing details on a new compensation package for CEO Ryan Cohen that is dependent on him meeting certain “significant” performance targets.

The video game retailer said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that Cohen would have to grow its market capitalization to $100 billion and it would need to hit $10 billion in cumulative performance EBITDA—or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization—for his award to fully vest.

GameStop said Cohen won’t receive any guaranteed pay, which it defines as no salary, no cash bonuses, and no stock that simply vests over time.

“His compensation is entirely ‘at-risk,’ meaning he will only be paid if the company achieves significant market and operational goals,” GameStop said in the filing. “This structure ensures that Mr. Cohen’s incentives are directly aligned with creating long-term value for GameStop’s stockholders.”

The structure is similar to a pay package that Tesla shareholders approved for CEO Elon Musk, in which Musk would receive Tesla stock worth $1 trillion if he hits certain performance targets over the next decade.

Cohen’s compensation package with GameStop includes stock options to buy more than 171.5 million common shares for $20.66 each. Shareholders must approve the new pay package at a special meeting in March or April.

Shares of GameStop rose 4%, to $21.49, in midday trading, giving the company a market cap of roughly $9.26 billion.

The company’s shares are down substantially from May 2024, when influential investor Keith Gill, popularly known as “Roaring Kitty,” appeared online for the first time in three years to declare his support for GameStop.

Gill helped ignite a “meme” stock craze in early 2021, when GameStop’s stock price soared above $120.

—By Michelle Chapman, AP business writer