GameStop stock is back in the spotlight. With renewed interest in meme stocks and speculation around a second wave of retail-fueled rallies, many are wondering -what was GameStop’s all-time high stock price, and what led to such a historic surge in the first place?
This article takes you through GameStop’s roller coaster rise to $483 a share (before its stock split), the legendary short squeeze, and where things stand today.
Before the Hype: What Was GameStop’s Situation?
GameStop was a struggling video game retailer before getting into finance. It operated used game and merchandise stores in shopping malls across the U.S. Though, GameStop’s business model began to suffer due to the introduction of digital downloads, cloud gaming, and services like Steam, Xbox Game Pass.
Analysts labeled the company a “dying business” in 2020, putting the final nail in its stock price below $5. Hedge funds started heavily shorting GameStop stocks, essentially betting that the company would continue to decline.
GameStop’s All-Time High Stock Price (Pre-Split)
During this event, we also witnessed a historic event unfold.
Before its 2022 stock split, on January 28, 2021, GameStop's share price peaked at $483 apiece, meaning if you had a single share, you would now own four post-split shares valued at a quarter each. The company executed a 4-for-1 stock split in July 2022. If you're learning how to Trade Market Tops and Bottoms, this moment was a textbook example of extreme market behavior.
In essence, the highest share price following the split sits around $120.75, but what we can truly consider the all-time high is 483 during the peak of the short squeeze.
What Is a Short Squeeze?
To make sense of what happened here, it’s important to explain what a short squeeze is.
Investors profit from a stock’s downfall through short selling, hoping to buy back shares at a cheaper price after selling them. If the stock appreciates, however, they will need to make the repurchase at the inflated price, realizing a loss.
A short squeeze happens when a stock that is heavily burdened with short positions begins to rise. Short sellers need to “cover” their positions to avoid further losses, which involves buying the stock back. The stock appreciation is caused by the buying pressure.
Everything came together for GameStop.
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Timeline of the Squeeze: From $4 to $483
Let’s go step by step through the events:
December 2020: GME is gaining traction on Reddit and is up to ~$20.
January 11, 2021: Ryan Cohen (Chewy co-founder) joins the board, which starts fueling the hope for a turnaround.
January 22: GME closes at $65.
January 25: GME skyrockets to $159.
January 28: GME reaches its all-time high of $483 intraday before closing at $193.
Also, apps such as Robinhood claimed liquidity issues while restricting the trading of GME and other meme stocks. This caused public outrage which led to congressional hearings and regulatory scrutiny.
The Power of Reddit: WallStreetBets and the Retail Army
On the subreddit r/WallStreetBets, a surge of individual investors uncovered the fact that GameStop’s shares had a greater number of shares shorted than actually available for trading. This presented an opportunity for a short squeeze.
With users like Roaring Kitty (Keith Gill) and social media and meme culture leading the charge, retail traders en masse started purchasing and holding GME shares, determined to provide an uplift in the stock price and counter Wall Street's oppression.
There was a revenge factor. A great number of investors wanted to take it out on hedge funds that profited during the 2008 market crash and had continued to subjugate the market ever since.
What Happened After That?
When the dust settled, GameStop's stock calmed down market after the July 2022 stock split. The business itself attempted to evolve:
- Appointed Ryan Cohen as Chairman.
- An NFT marketplace was launched (although the timing was unfortunate).
- Paid more attention to e-commerce and digital initiatives.
Though the stock price has not returned to its peak pre-split Level of $483, it still trades significantly higher than pre-squeeze values, buoyed by steadfast retail investors and enduring speculators.
GameStop Stock Today: April 24, 2025
As of April 24, 2025, GameStop's stock is trading at $27.31. This marks a modest uptick from the previous day's close of $27.12.
A number of factors may be responsible for the recent increase in GameStop's stock price. Pre-orders have begun for Nintendo Switch 2, which is set to release later this year. This solidifies GameStop's position as a major retailer for the product. In addition to this, attention from investors has also been drawn due to the introduction of new 2x leveraged ETFs that provide exposure to GameStop stock.
Regardless of the aforementioned factors, GameStop's current stock price is still more than the short squeeze of January 2021, where the stock price reached an all-time high of $483. Even after such volatile movements, the stock has remained resilient and continues to fascinate investors and market analysts alike.
Conclusion
GameStop’s highest stock price was a sudden and unexpected phenomenon. It demonstrated that even retail investors can make big changes. The GameStop short squeeze will be remembered as a moment in time when normal people forced Wall Street to notice. It was a movement more than anything else.