Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) is a giant conglomerate built upon an insurance business. It was created over time by world-famous investor Warren Buffett, who stepped down as CEO at the start of 2026. Comparing any company to Berkshire Hathaway is a massive compliment.
GameStop (NYSE: GME) isn’t worthy of such a comparison at this point in time. But GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has done impressive things at the helm and appears to have very big ambitions for the future. Could a comparison to Berkshire Hathaway be in the cards?
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What makes Berkshire Hathaway special?
Until his retirement, buying Berkshire Hathaway was essentially a way to invest alongside Warren Buffett. The company was his investment vehicle. Now it is the investment vehicle of Greg Abel, Buffett’s hand-picked successor. However, the key to the story is the company’s sizable insurance operations, which is why it is considered a financial stock even though it operates across a wide range of industries.
Insurance companies collect premiums up front and pay claims later. That leaves the company with the cash in between, which is called the float. Buffett invested the float in stocks and even used it to buy whole companies. That was what made the company so special and why other companies, like Markel Group (NYSE: MKL) and Brookfield Corporation (NYSE: BN), have used the same approach.
GameStop is a retailer, so there’s no float involved at this point. As such, it can’t really operate like Berkshire Hathaway. So making such a comparison isn’t really appropriate. But that doesn’t mean that GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen can’t buy other companies and expand the business.
Ryan Cohen has done some impressive things at GameStop
In fact, Ryan Cohen has revived GameStop. At one point, it looked like the video game industry’s shift from selling physical to digital copies would destroy the retailer. Cohen has successfully broadened the business, with collectibles now the largest piece of its operation and twice the size of its software business.
Moreover, through astute equity issuances, some of which occurred during the meme stock period, the company has amassed a substantial cash hoard. In May 2026, the company reported it had nearly $7.4 billion in cash and just under $1 billion in marketable securities. It has a market cap of $9.4 billion, so cash and investments make up nearly 90% of the stock’s valuation.
Cohen is an activist investor, which is how he first got involved in GameStop. It isn’t surprising that he wants to use GameStop’s cash to invest, which is similar to what Buffett did at Berkshire Hathaway, but different because that cash isn’t insurance float. Cohen’s big, headline-grabbing move was an offer to buy eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY). The core of the story is the overlap between the two companies’ collectibles businesses. Only eBay, with a nearly $48 billion market cap, is a dramatically larger company.
Not surprisingly, eBay has turned down the acquisition offer. Cohen is expected to continue his effort to buy eBay, but a deal seems unlikely. And even if he manages to pull this audacious move off, it still doesn’t make GameStop the next Berkshire Hathaway. It looks more like empire-building at this point.
Buffett was never an activist investor
Investors shouldn’t jump aboard GameStop today thinking Ryan Cohen is Warren Buffett. Cohen’s fundamental approach is dramatically different, noting that Buffett was never an activist investor. Buffett bought long-term investments, letting good leaders run the businesses he acquired or invested in. Cohen is clearly building something new at GameStop and having some success in that effort, but the eBay acquisition attempt is not an indication that he’s turned the company into the next Berkshire Hathaway. Markel or Brookfield Corporation would be better options if you want to invest in a company that operates like Berkshire Hathaway.
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Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Brookfield Corporation, Markel Group, and eBay. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
