Quote · All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen's $56B Plan to Take Over eBay
Where this was said
Why he wants to buy eBay for $56B
At 34:54 · chapter starts 26:39
Cohen and Friedberg trace eBay's arc from first-mover marketplace leader to a business that could have been Amazon but defaulted into niche categories, with a discussion of PayPal, Skype, and StubHub acquisitions. [1] — Ryan Cohen "Since COVID, every key eBay metric has gone the wrong direction: GMV down, 30 million fewer active users, operating earnings declining, and…" 40:24
Collectibles now represent 42% of GameStop's revenue, worth approximately $350 million, reflecting the company's successful pivot from video game software.
GameStop has $9.7 billion in cash, $333 million in free cash flow, and grew revenue 14% year over year in Q1.
Since COVID, every key eBay metric has gone the wrong direction: GMV down, 30 million fewer active users, operating earnings declining, and operating expenses now consuming more than half of revenue. Meanwhile, every other e-commerce player is growing.
eBay's active user base has fallen by 30 million since COVID, alongside declining GMV and operating earnings.
eBay's operating expenses now exceed half of its revenues — a striking inefficiency for a business that holds no inventory.
In a marketplace, sellers are the product. eBay cut its concierge programs, forces sellers to rely on third-party tools, and is losing their loyalty. Cohen's fix: get engineering and sellers on the same call and solve their problems directly.
