EBAY
GME
So, eBay just got put on the austerity diet
Ryan Cohen is not exactly subtle. In a recent TBPN interview, the GameStop chair and activist investor said eBay’s 11,500-person headcount is way too bloated for an “asset light” business, arguing he could run the platform from his house. Charming? No. Memorable? Absolutely.
Cohen’s pitch is a $28 billion takeover offer that would pay shareholders $125 a share, split between cash and stock. That’s the kind of number that makes everyone in the room sit up straighter — especially since he says he wants to slash overhead, trim marketing waste, and push eBay into a more aggressive growth mode.
Why investors should care
The big hook here isn’t just the headline-grabbing bid. It’s the playbook behind it. Cohen says he wants to apply the same hard-nosed cost-cutting he used at GameStop, where he reportedly hacked $800 million in SG&A. In his version of the story, leaner = faster = better margins. In the real world, that usually means layoffs, restructuring, and a whole lot of uncomfortable meetings.
For EBAY shareholders, the near-term question is simple: is this a serious takeover path or a loud, high-profile pressure campaign? Either way, the stock is now trading with a takeover overhang, and that can keep the tape choppy while investors wait for a formal move.
Big picture
If Cohen gets any traction, eBay could be forced to rethink the whole “steady old internet marketplace” vibe and start acting more like a scrappy operator again. If not, this may end up as another episode of billionaire chess with a very expensive board.