GameStop stock influencer Keith Gill, also known as “Roaring Kitty,” held his first livestream in three years on Friday as the videogame retailer’s shares dropped about 37% in volatile trading following the announcement of a share sale to raise up to $3 billion.
GameStop, which reported its quarterly results four days earlier than scheduled on Friday, saw its shares surge nearly 50% the day before after Gill, a key figure behind the stock’s dramatic rally in 2021, posted on YouTube about his upcoming livestream.
“You post a couple of memes, you post a couple of screenshots, and everyone loses their minds,” Gill said during the livestream, wearing a headband and white sunglasses.
Less than half an hour into the YouTube livestream, more than 600,000 viewers had tuned in.
Gill interspersed his discussion of GameStop with various disclaimers, warning viewers that they could “lose it all” and that his “aggressive style of investing is almost certainly not suitable for you all.”
Shares of GameStop were halted multiple times during Friday’s session, including during the livestream. The stock last traded down 37% at $29.20.
By early afternoon, investors had exchanged over $8 billion worth of GameStop shares, making it the most traded stock on Wall Street, except for Nvidia, according to LSEG data.
Gill expressed confidence in GameStop billionaire CEO Ryan Cohen, saying, “I believe this guy. It’s kind of based on feeling.”
GameStop is “right-sizing” the ship and cutting costs to stabilize the legacy business, and now it’s all about the transformation, he explained.
Earlier, the company announced plans to sell up to 75 million shares but did not provide details on the timing of the capital raise or the reason for the early release of its earnings report.
“There’s an old saying: feed the ducks while they’re quacking, and certainly the ducks are quacking very loudly for GME right now,” said Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers. He suggested that the company moved its earnings date forward due to rules against selling stock ahead of a major corporate announcement like earnings.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment on whether it was reviewing the share sale.
In 2021, Gill’s advocacy for GameStop helped its shares surge by as much as 1,600% before they fell. He gained a cult-like following among some investors and notoriety with others.
Gill’s bullish case on Reddit posts and YouTube streams, where he often wore a bright red pirate bandana, attracted a flood of retail cash to the struggling brick-and-mortar retailer. However, after drawing congressional and regulatory scrutiny, Gill disappeared from the public eye, becoming much richer thanks to his GameStop investment, which at one point was valued at $48 million.
His return has sent GameStop shares soaring in recent weeks after an account linked to Gill on X began posting memes on May 13, which some investors interpreted as a sign of his renewed bullishness on the company.
Just last month, GameStop announced it had raised more than $900 million by selling 45 million shares, capitalizing on the revival of the meme-stocks rally.
“Strike while the iron is hot. AMC was applauded for making use of their stock price surge to clean up its balance sheet, so it’s not surprising that GameStop would take a page from their playbook,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
Theater chain AMC Entertainment, another retail favorite, completed a $250 million “at-the-market” share sale during the meme-stock craze last month.
