Video games are holiday gift staples. Kids unwrap them on Christmas morning, feel that instant gratification rush, and dive into gameplay. Parents head to GameStop Corporation (GME) or other retailers, drop $69.99 on the latest release, and call it a win. Everyone's happy, right?
But here's a thought experiment: What if instead of buying that video game, you bought GameStop stock? It sounds ridiculous as a gift for a teenager. Nobody wants to unwrap shares on Christmas morning. Yet the numbers behind this comparison reveal something fascinating about value, meme stocks, and what actually holds up over time.
The Holiday Gaming Ritual
GameStop thrives during the holidays. New releases flood shelves, consoles fly off racks, and the company sees its annual retail boost. Meanwhile, GameStop the stock became something entirely different in recent years—a cultural phenomenon, a meme stock legend following its historic 2021 short squeeze, and a favorite of retail investors.
Walk into GameStop during December, and you'll find plenty of new games priced at $69.99. That's the standard premium price point. Kids love them, parents buy them, and life goes on.
The problem? Video games lose value fast. New sports titles come out annually, making last year's version obsolete. Sequels replace franchises. New consoles emerge, and suddenly your old games feel ancient. Open the shrink wrap, and resale value plummets. A year-old game might fetch half its original price if you're lucky.
The Stock Alternative Nobody Actually Gives
Giving stock as a gift to young relatives is theoretically smart. It teaches investing, compounds over time, and could turn into real money. Practically speaking, most kids would rather have something they can actually use on Christmas Day.
Still, let's run the numbers.
Last Christmas, GameStop stock hit $31.59 on December 24, the final trading day before the holiday. That same $69.99 video game budget could have purchased 2.22 shares. Today, at $21.28 per share, those holdings would be worth $47.24—down 32.5%.
Not great, admittedly. But here's the thing: that video game is probably worth even less now. Used, opened, and slightly outdated, it might fetch $20-30 if you're lucky selling it secondhand. The stock still wins.
The Six-Year Christmas Challenge
Looking back further gets more interesting. Here's how $69.99 invested in GameStop stock each Christmas would have performed:
- Christmas 2019: Stock traded at $1.52, buying 46.05 shares. Today's value: $979.94, up 1,300%
- Christmas 2020: Stock at $5.59, buying 12.52 shares. Today's value: $266.43, up 280.7%
- Christmas 2021: Stock at $38.75 (post-squeeze), buying 1.81 shares. Today's value: $38.52, down 45%
- Christmas 2022: Stock at $20.62, buying 3.39 shares. Today's value: $72.14, up 3.1%
- Christmas 2023: Stock at $17.20, buying 4.07 shares. Today's value: $86.61, up 23.7%
- Christmas 2024: Stock at $31.59, buying 2.22 shares. Today's value: $47.24, down 32.5%
Add it all up. Instead of six video games costing $419.94 total, you'd have $1,490.88 today—a 255% return. Even with GameStop stock down 30.6% year-to-date in 2025, the cumulative result crushes the gaming alternative.
Christmas 2019 was the jackpot year. Anyone who bought GameStop at $1.52 per share before the meme stock mania saw massive gains. Christmas 2021, by contrast, was brutal—buying near $38.75 after the squeeze meant catching the falling knife.
What This Actually Means
Nobody's seriously suggesting you give stock certificates instead of video games to your kids. The point is about understanding value and depreciation. Physical goods, especially electronics and games, lose value rapidly. Stocks fluctuate, sometimes wildly, but over longer periods can compound.
Will GameStop stock outperform a video game purchased this Christmas in 2026? Impossible to predict. The company's trying to pivot its business model, explore trading cards as a growth segment, and navigate a digital gaming world that's increasingly leaving physical retail behind.
But the historical comparison is clear: even with a volatile meme stock experiencing significant declines, the investment held value better than depreciating consumer goods. It's a reminder that what feels valuable in the moment isn't always what holds value over time.
