GameStop is planning a stock split in the form of a dividend, but shareholders will have to approve this plan at the upcoming 2022 annual meeting.
The game retailer filed a form 8-K with the SEC laying out the plans for this stock split and dividend.
The news has the retail community cheering on the plan but leaves curious investors with a few questions.
Be sure to bookmark this page for updates.
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How will a GameStop Dividend work?
GameStop plans to increase the number of authorized shares of Class A common stock from 300,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 in order to implement a stock split of the Company’s Class A common stock in the form of a stock dividend.
The stock soared more than 14% after hours moments after the announcement.
Several call options within $170-$190 are in the pocket to fuel massive gamma squeeze for Friday’s rally.
To say GME shareholders are excited is an understatement.
But GameStop shareholders aren’t the only ones who are excited.
The entire ‘meme stock’ crowd is happy to hear the news as most upswings have been in synchronicity with both GameStop and AMC.
GME stock is up more than 16% after hours while AMC which also closed red today is up more than 5%.
What type of dividend GameStop unveils is yet unknown, but a dividend usually comes in the form of monthly, quarterly, or annual compensation.
Investors are even speculating an NFT dividend could be underway.
However, this is a developing story so be sure to join the newsletter for immediate updates.
How does a stock dividend work?
Stock dividends pay shareholders a percentage from a company’s profits every month, every quarter, or annually, depending on the terms.
Shareholder will have two options when receiving stock dividends.
- Cash out the dividend during every payment cycle
- Reinvest the dividend back into the stock to accumulate more shares over time
If GameStop offers shareholders a traditional dividend (non-NFT), then shareholders will be able to use one of these two options.
How much investors earn every month, or every quarter will depend on how many shares an investor holds and on GameStop’s dividend yield.
The more shares of a company an investor holds means the more dividend yield is accumulated over a period of time.
A GameStop dividend could provide shareholders with a stream of passive income like most dividend stocks do.
Long terms stockholders tend to reinvest that dividend so that the number of shares they own compound over time, creating a snowball effect of increased value assets.
This is what Warren Buffett refers to as value investing.
So, how does a stock split work?
A stock split takes a share and splits it into two or more shares, dividing the share price by the number of splits.
For example, Amazon just announced a 20-1 stock split.
This means for every share you own of AMZN stock you will receive 20 more shares when the stock splits.
AMZN stock is worth roughly $3,200 today.
If the stock split today and you only owned 1 share of stock, you will now have 20 shares each worth $160.
Owning 2 shares of AMZN stock would give you 40 shares valued at $160.
Tesla and Apple had stock splits earlier last year too.
GameStop’s stock split ratio is still unknown, but I will cover it as more information from the company is released.
What is the purpose of a stock split?
A stock split allows investors to purchase a company’s stock at much more affordable price.
Especially after a stock’s share price has surged to relatively high numbers.
Going back to Amazon as an example, while $3,200 per share is not feasible for most small investors, $160 per share incentivizes retail investors to buy the stock at a much lower entry point.
A GameStop stock split too could allow retail investors to buy the stock at a much lower price.
GameStop stock split explained
The company wants to increase the number of common stocks in the market from 300,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 to provide that capital to its shareholders in the form of a dividend.
So, it’s possible we don’t even see a traditional stock split (unless announced by GameStop).
The information we have available at the moment points towards this ‘dilution’ so-to-speak as a form of payment to GameStop’s shareholders in the form of a GameStop dividend.
GameStop’s board of directors has approved both stockholder proposals, but the stock dividend will be contingent (subject to change) on the final Board approval.
What does a GME stock dividend mean for short sellers?
The news of a GME stock dividend means retail investors will flood the market to buy GameStop, causing short sellers not only lose a lot of money, but to close their positions.
What happens to a short seller when a company announces a stock dividend?
If the stock is short on the record date, they will owe the dividend to their broker.
At this point a GameStop short squeeze is inevitable.
Shorts will be forced to buy back their shares to pay their brokers the dividend they’re entitled to once this proposal is executed, or they have the chance to close their short positions now before accumulating greater losses in the future.
Either way this plays out, short sellers are not in a good position right now.
Is GameStop a buy right now?
GameStop might be a little pricey at the moment, but investors buying in for a short squeeze have a chance at making a lot of money in the near-term future.
Are you a GME shareholder?
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About The Author
I own both GME and AMC. I Bought AMC when their theaters were still closed due to Covid and there was talk of bankruptcy, but I did not agree with that. Since then, it’s up 159%. Oh, well.
As far as GME, I like what the company has been doing over the past couple years. I would be thrilled with a 7-4-1 split. Heck, I’d love a 3-1 split, but not as much. Overall, my GME is up 42.2%. Still, nothing to sneeze at, especially in the face of overwhelming evidence of manipulation that appears about to shred those who thought they could illegally continue to naked short the system while hiding their crimes in dark pools so they would have shares to sell during lit markets.
This is about to be a one-off. Never happened before, so the criminals did not expect it. Now, they will likely change their tactics moving forward so as to not get caught again–that is, if they survive this upcoming storm.
That’ll teach hedgies to try and play with gamers. That was a bad bet from the beginning.
They messed with the wrong crowd no doubt – thanks for your comment, Bruce.
This will be epic
Oh yeah 👊🔥
Agreed. Both AMC and GME are good plays. It will be interesting to see what happens on April Fool’s Day
Let’s start a discussion!