"Actions speak louder than words" and "there are no Cohencidences" - Ryan Cohen is Preventing MOASS

Get your pitchforks and downvotes ready.

Background

This is my first attempt at a DD. I am not well educated in finance and don't dabble in TA or trading for that matter. I am an average retail investor with a little free time right now and a knack for identifying patterns, synthesizing large amounts of complex information, and questioning everything. I, like most retail investors invested in GameStop, got in a little late to the party in the hype of late January 2021. I regrettably spend too much time on these subs and have allowed Reddit to become my main vice since January 28, 2021. I learned most of what I know about public companies and investing in general from this journey, although I have built and sold my small business in the meantime, read many books, and studied real estate and many other things to become savvy and well-rounded with my approach to business and finance. There has been a lot here on the sub to qualify many of us for an MBA at this point. Prior to 2021, I did have more knowledge of crypto than the average bear unfortunately paired with inherited poor financial habits and financial illiteracy which caused me to miss out on the massive opportunity of buying and holding deep value in that sector. I believe that GameStop was and still is the best opportunity in the world to reap massive gains. My short-term predictions have come to pass and everyone I have told about the opportunity believes I am wrong and stupid. I have only met one ape in the wild briefly at Sonic Temple Music Festival in 2024 right after Roaring Kitty returned when I rocked my GameStop shirt - if you see this, say hi!

After watching all the players and moving parts of this saga very closely and forming my own opinions and hunches along the way while always dreaming of MOASS tomorrow, I have taken the time to go back and put a timeline together of all the events I found significant and tried to find patterns to explain why we all aren't rich and enjoying life free from the chains of modern slavery already. I believe everything should always be questioned and understanding is increasingly difficult to achieve with the increasing complexity of situations, and this is the most complex situation I could ever imagine. Only a fool would assume that Ryan Cohen, Keith Gill, or anyone else is their friend without knowing them personally, and even then, one should tread lightly.

Thesis

I believe that Ryan Cohen has actively worked to prevent MOASS since the beginning with the botched stock split being the smoking gun. He has made plenty of money from the initial sneeze to call it a win, however I think he does seek a ton of money and to potentially become the richest man in the world. When you are already rich, however, power becomes more important. Two things can be true at the same time, a fact that the bot and shill factions on both sides of MOASS would have you believe to be a lie. I posit that Ryan Cohen is not your friend in that he doesn’t want you to get dummy rich fast from a short squeeze. He doesn’t care if you’re struggling or if you bought high or how loyal you are. Whether your portfolio is green or if, like most of us who didn’t get in when he did, is red and eaten alive/left in the dust by inflation and opportunity costs from sure plays such as bitcoin, Apple, the AI stock, the S&P, or investing in Charizard for that matter. However, I do think he does want to burn shorts long-term à la Tesla and deliver massive shareholder value eventually even if it doesn’t align with what got us all here – MOASS. I am not speaking to the bots and shills that try to steer the narrative away from MOASS. Those of you who are real apes, know we are here for one thing and one thing only – MOASS. Ryan is incredible at building businesses and making them profitable, cutting-edge, and future-proof. It is very impressive, and since the last 5 years went the way they did, I can only be grateful that the risk was proven asymmetrical with the moves he has made to ensure long-term value for shareholders. However, it is not what I got in for and I still want my squeeze no matter how good for me the health of the company may be. I feel if we still had 76 million total shares outstanding, I would not still be here on this website and would instead be living like Ryan Cohen. The actions of Ryan and the company he runs have been counteractive to MOASS, and for that reason, if ever given the opportunity to vote Keith Gill in as CEO, I will do so. These 2 are the only 2 I trust given the magnitude of things, and I believe Keith’s interests are more aligned with mine.

The Data

Let’s get into it. I put together a timeline of things I find significant below:

Date	Event	TSO (M)	DRS (M)	DRS %	RC Shares (M)	RC %	RK Shares (M)	RK %
August-20	RC Buys into GME; begins GME tweeting	76.35	Unavailable	Unavailable	9.001	11.79	0	0
January-21	RK options; RC begins meming	76.35	Unavailable	Unavailable	9.001	11.79	0.05	0.07
February-21	RK Double Down	76.35	Unavailable	Unavailable	9.001	11.79	0.1	0.13
April-21	RK rolls options into shares	76.35	Unavailable	Unavailable	9.001	11.79	0.2	0.26
June 9, 2021	RC appointed chairman	76.35	Unavailable	Unavailable	9.001	11.79	0.2	0.26
June 21, 2021	Furlong appointed CEO	76.35	Unavailable	Unavailable	9.001	11.79	0.2	0.26
September 4, 2021	Initial DRS report	76.35	5.2	6.81	9.001	11.79	0.2	0.26
March 17, 2022		76.34	8.9	11.66	9.001	11.79	0.2	0.26
March 22, 2022	RC Purchase	76.34	8.9	11.66	9.101	11.92	0.2	0.26
June 2, 2022	Vote authorizing $1B shares “to facilitate the stock split”	76.13	12.7	16.68	9.101	11.95	0.2	0.26
July 9, 2022	4-for-1 Stock Split	304.53	71.3	23.41	36.404	11.95	0.8	0.26
December 7, 2022		304.58	71.8	23.57	36.404	11.95	0.8	0.26
March 28, 2023		304.68	76	24.94	36.404	11.95	0.8	0.26
June 1, 2023	Furlong exits; RC interim CEO	304.75	76.6	25.14	36.404	11.95	0.8	0.26
June 9, 2023	RC Purchase	304.75	77.6	25.46	36.657	12.03	0.8	0.26
June 12, 2023	Furlong resigns; RC appointed interim CEO	304.75	77.6	25.46	36.657	12.03	0.8	0.26
September 28, 2023	RC becomes CEO	304.75	76.6	25.14	36.657	12.03	0.8	0.26
April-24	RC stops meming, tone shift	304.75	76.6	25.14	36.657	12.03	0.8	0.26
May 12, 2024	RK Returns	304.75	72.8	23.89	37.657	12.36	5	1.64
May 24, 2024	45M Offering	349.75	72.8	20.81	36.657	10.48	5	1.43
June 11, 2024	75M Offering	426.51	71	16.65	36.657	8.59	9	2.11
September 23, 2024	20M Offering	447.08	71	15.88	36.657	8.20	5	1.12
December 4, 2024		446.8	71	15.89	36.657	8.20	5	1.12
January 1, 2025	RK posts dog, ghosts again	447.08	71	15.88	36.657	8.20	5	1.12
March 19, 2025		447.08	69.5	15.55	36.657	8.20	5	1.12
April 1, 2025	$1.5B Convertible Notes	447.08	69.5	15.55	36.657	8.20	5	1.12
April 3, 2025	RC Purchase	447.08	69.5	15.55	37.347	8.35	5	1.12
May 22, 2025	RK unfollows RC	447.08	69.5	15.55	37.347	8.35	5	1.12
June 1, 2025	$2.25B Convertible Notes	447.34	68.1	15.22	37.347	8.35	5	1.12
If Fully Diluted	If all Convertible Notes are Converted to Shares	590.94	68.1	11.52	37.347	6.32	5	0.85

GameStop Share Data

The data presented focuses on Total Shares Outstanding as it relates to the 3 largest parties invested in the success of GameStop who would all benefit from a short squeeze: DRS (that’s you and me), Ryan Cohen, and Keith Gill. In the timeline above, significant corporate events are indicated which have with not only coincided with the momentum of the share price at the time, but have also resulted in dilution and have impacted TSO and ownership percentages as a whole.

 

The Stock Split

This particular move has chapped my ass as a shareholder more than anything else I have seen. The stock split was presented as a dividend to shareholders. We thought for sure it was going to result in some squeezening. However, across the board with the way the filings were made, it was treated as a normal stock split by the DTCC and all financial institutions governed by its rules. The community landed on the fact that Matt Furlong, CEO at the time, was responsible for this mistake and that it was the result of a bad actor that got in for a second and quickly ousted. After observing RC’s actions, I do not believe that is the case.

RC was appointed chairman in June 2021. As the largest shareholder and chairman, the direction of the company was completely as his command, whether he claimed he didn’t want to become CEO or not. His actions before, during, and after the stock split suggest he always knew he would be CEO. I propose Matt Furlong was placed into the position (with the blessing of the largest shareholder and chairman RC) with the stock split planned to be a fumble.

Either he is a mastermind or a doofus. Since he has shown he is not dumb, I suggest it is impossible that the stock split filing would have happened the way it did without RC and his team’s review. The event was too significant for a company he had too much say and oversight in.

Now, it is obvious that Ryan had been building his personal brand as a memelord since starting his Twitter crusade right as this all began. This suggests to me that apes were always a part of his plan and that attracting a strong retail investor commitment would serve his ends well. The nature, frequency, and timing of his Tweets were well designed to build overwhelming positive sentiment, approval, and support from retail investors. His memeing certainly was not aimed at other billionaires or institutions. He has leaned into the sub and interacted with apes on the outskirts with one strong interview with our community to hype us up in solidarity and trust his plan.

Many interactions on this sub regarding Cohen have had the same markings of bot and shill behavior that we observe on the other side who seeks to convince us it’s all over. You can’t speak against him without massive and immediate backlash. The upvotes are overwhelming and constant for anything pro-Cohen, to the degree of unnatural and inorganic. Any discussion that questions him or his actions is met with resistance, gaslighting, and vitriol. I am not sure of the mechanics or costs involved in pumping sentiment and sneaky advertising on Reddit, however I am positive money is being spent to push narratives and protect Cohen’s image, the same as it is being spent to bash the stock, or promote Dave Lauer at times. I’ve seen it all and you have too, and if this post makes it past 0 upvotes, you may see it in real time as you’re reading this.

With that addressed – back to the stock split. We were sold on the vote to authorize 1 billion shares “to facilitate the stock split” as explicitly stated in GameStop’s 14A filing.

SCHEDULE 14A - We are asking our stockholders to approve an amendment to our Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Existing Charter”), to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock to 1,000,000,000, and correspondingly increase the number of authorized shares of all classes of our stock to 1,005,000,000 in order to implement a stock split of our common stock in the form of a stock dividend (the “Stock Split”) and provide flexibility for future corporate needs. Our Existing Charter currently authorizes the issuance of 300,000,000 shares of common stock and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock.

GameStop could have just about split the stock similarly even if we didn’t pass this vote. However, they were already authorized to issue more shares anyway so I don’t particularly find the excess authorized shares to be insidious despite the recent onslaught of dilutions, but the stock split itself affected the stock in several ways and the passing of this vote allowed the powers that be to have their cake and continue to slice it.

 

DRS

Power to the people, power to the players. The hivemind did it. We were taking a stock count in a decentralized way that not only gave us an accurate count of retail shares owned, but removed them from DTCC circulation and prevented rehypothecation. The implications were massive. Either we would apply pressure to bad actors playing musical shares and speed up the music, or we would expose a system of fraudulent share reporting by DRSing more shares than we should own and spark a squeeze with this public information or force an audit and the consequences that would come with it. GameStop, under the leadership of Ryan Cohen, seemed to be aligned with us by providing data on DRS counts they received from Computershare. From late 2021 to mid 2022, the rate of DRS was insane as we catalogued shares in droves from 6% of total shares outstanding to over 23% with no signs of slowing down.

 

The True Purpose of the Stock Split

There is a lot going on behind the scenes in the financial system, and we know there is no end to the convoluted tricks that are being played by parties, counterparties, banks, and even nations at this point. I won’t say I know exactly what happened with the stock split. All I will say, is that I believe it was intentional on behalf of RC and GameStop and counter to MOASS.

The most important piece of data I think came out of this was the blatant stagnation of DRS numbers reported. We went from an exponential curve of DRS rate to a flatline right at the time of the stock split (and eventual decline). This is not a random coincidence in my opinion, and I believe it was one of the major purposes of the stock split.

Many users (real or fake or a mixture) jumped to blame the DTCC and Matt Furlong for botching it. The secret ingredient of crime was once again the main course with a garnish of hedgie plant. Tensions were high toward Furlong until he was ousted June 2023 and replaced as CEO by Cohen, who was received like a savior among a well-primed community of apes that were seeing their dreams come true of RC taking the reigns. I believe Furlong was just a patsy so Cohen-led GameStop could perform the stock split to mitigate the risk of DRS-induced MOASS while keeping Cohen’s image and sentiment intact, even enhancing it with this move.

Cohen knew taking the wind out of the sails would prevent MOASS in the short term. Perhaps there are some other bones he threw with the creation of all these extra shares as well. I have no idea but I believe it is possible. The tampering with the liquidity and share price of the stock took the one thing we had in our control from us, through whatever mechanism it did. Whether the DTCC, Furlong, or Cohen is responsible, this was a result of the split, and the best part is, we are just supposed to accept it and this instance gets buried with time. I would love to know why DRS stagnated as a result of the split, but for now unless someone more knowledgeable than me can shed light on it, I must be contented with knowing that it did.

 

RC, First of His Name and Slayer of Run-Ups

The stock was on a steady decline for a while after the split with some quarterly spikes. Then RK returned. We were so back. The sharp spike was met with news of a share offering immediately, not once, but twice, as the company sold into the heavy volume that coincided with RK’s return. We were finally seeing shareholder value, and the momentum was killed with rushed share offerings. The reactive nature showed that the run-ups were unwanted. There is no Furlong to be a patsy anymore; RC deliberately diluted the stock which killed momentum on several occasions. Granted, the company raised a lot of money, which is good for the company, yet bad for MOASS in the short term, in true RC fashion, consistent with the TSO-flooding momentum-killer that was the stock split. These actions are not separate, they are thematic and show Ryan’s approach to run-ups and squeezes. Not only does he not want a squeeze, he wants the stock low and has marked it on several occasions with share purchases around the share price of $20, even before all the dilution. While the run-ups were thwarted, volatility also appears to have been killed on the inverse, with an established floor and a more stable share price. The 20M share offering in September 2024 was also weird as a run-up was brewing without RK activity and it was also killed in this fashion. We wait it out some more, see some run ups in April and June 2025, and the convertible note offerings were announced. 6 events resulted in the creation of more shares and the increase of total shares outstanding while snuffing out volatility that would have been in our favor, marked by reactions to either DRS, RK, or other algorithmic things that could result in unpredictability of the share price. Sure, it’s great for the company, but I want a squeeze, or at least to feel like I didn’t back the wrong horse in the most spectacularly stupid way possible.

Roaring Kitty is Inevitable

I am not sure if RK planned things to go this way, or if he has set in motion a Choose Your Adventure Goosebumps Endgame thing to where he’s working in a realm of possibilities that all result in us getting paid. There are some interesting things I have observed and re-observed in a new light while digging into this.

-       From a shareholder perspective disregarding company roles, Ryan Cohen has fallen below the 10% ownership threshold through his dilutive actions. He has made purchases since, but not approaching 10% again. While he has bags on bags to deploy to regain control if ever challenged by a billionaire not to mention the loyalty of retail shareholders who compose an unknown portion of the vote, but there is a faint element of vulnerability here.

-       RK has 10x-ed his position multiple times. At this point, I would wager he could do it again, and eventually he could have enough to buy a stake larger than Cohen’s. Wait, is there any way he could have bought the convertible notes? I haven’t seen enough on that to know if that’s a dumb idea or a real possibility so forgive me if that’s a dumb question. If he could, then we could just be waiting for the big reveal.

-       If we are watching actions, RC’s actions are good for the company and bad for volatility and the share price. RK’s actions are fantastic for the share price and elicit reactions from Cohen and the company.

I think as long as Ryan Cohen is in control, the company is in good hands and I’ll treat my investment as super long term but I would almost bet against MOASS. If the convertible bonds were to be fully converted at today’s share price in the gutter, it would represent double the amount of shares outstanding as existed when we first got in. The thesis is that the stock is shorted multiple times over TSO at strike prices below $4 or something crazy so it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme if a short squeeze ever were to take place. I think either way, we get into the S&P 500 eventually as well and get paid. However, I think we may see some insanity if RK ever challenges RC for the honor of leadership. He has proven he can make tons of money, and he has the loyalty of the community behind him. I’m tired of Cohen stopping momentum and would love to yeet him, but feel the risk is too high to do it in favor of anyone but Keith Gill.

Anyway that Stock Split was so dumb amirite?