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Shares of the company jumped 10% in premarket trading. The stock
has been on a roller-coaster ride since 2021 when retail
investors drove up its price in an attempt to prove that bets by
hedge funds on GameStop's demise were wrong.
Cohen is GameStop's largest investor and has been on the board
for more than two years. He became executive chairman in June
after former CEO Matt Furlong was ousted.
Gamestop said he will relinquish that title and will not receive
any compensation for his new roles.
Cohen arrived at GameStop after building online pet products
retailer Chewy into a powerhouse that he sold for $3.5 billion
in 2017.
The billionaire had initially tried to steer GameStop
aggressively toward a more online-focused model as the chain,
dependent on physical stores, looked to revive its business.
But he has backtracked on some of those e-commerce plans,
relying more on GameStop's brick-and-mortar stores and using
them as places where customers can pick up online orders.
The company's quarterly earnings earlier this month showed some
signs that the strategy was working as strong demand for
videogames, collectibles and consoles helped GameStop post a
smaller-than-expected loss and revenue that beat estimates.
Still, there have been concerns among analysts about the slow
pace of change at GameStop and Cohen's mixed record as an
activist investor at the companies he has targeted, including
Bed Bath & Beyond and Nordstrom.
The company has seen several executive departures in recent
years, with former chief operating officer Jenna Owens leaving
in October 2021 just seven months after joining.
Former finance chief Michael Recupero, who was hired at the same
time as Furlong was brought in, was terminated last year.
The video-game retailer's shares have lost more than 80% of
their value since the record high in 2021, including a 7%
decline this year.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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