“Can you hear me right now?” Keith Gill began his broadcast. “I kinda forget how to do this.”
In 2021, the influencer better known as Roaring Kitty led a crusade of retail traders that triggered the extraordinary rise of GameStop, a troubled video game chain, and left Wall Street struggling. Gill became an Internet star and even testified before Congress about her bullish stance on stocks.
Then he disappeared from sight. For years after the turbulent stock market frenzy, Gill remained silent online. Even when the story of his battle against the financial establishment was turned into a Hollywood movie, she remained silent.
A series of cryptic social media posts last month indicated that Roaring Kitty had awakened from her three-year nap, reigniting a volatile rally in GameStop shares. But they raised more questions than answers.
When Gill resurfaced on YouTube today, hundreds of thousands of viewers were waiting. However, those who tuned in looking for clarity were met with a disappointing 50 minutes.
In 2021, when GameStop stock first skyrocketed, it was a company with losses, struggling to find its place in the modern era of gaming. Three years later, it remains unprofitable and struggles to find its place in the modern era of gaming.
Its latest results, released shortly before Roaring Kitty became available, described a sharp drop in sales since the beginning of the year. GameStop too confirmed plans sell up to 75 million more shares, capitalizing on the latest jump in its shares.
“The company will not be holding a conference call today,” GameStop said in a brief press release, offering no explanation for its weak results. Its shares plummeted by as much as a quarter and trading was repeatedly halted.
The retailer wasn’t prepared to head to the market, but one staunch believer was happy to do so. Gill reappeared with his arm in a sling, a bandage on his head, plasters on his face and sunglasses. A life support machine could be heard in the background, before he pretended to die.
“Oh shit, that was close,” he laughed, thanking viewers for bringing him back to life. However, GameStop’s stock price, shown live in the background, did not look healthy.
Gill wanted to dispel the rumours. “This is me, by the way,” he said, emphasizing that he is, in fact, in control of his business and social media accounts, and doesn’t work with anyone else.
So why the return?
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“There is no real game plan,” Gill clarified, despite speculation that he could provide new information to explain his confidence in a declining retailer. Instead, he rambled on about movie memes, played with a Magic 8 ball, and thanked his fans for their well-wishes ahead of his birthday.
“It’s been a few years. I hope you are all well,” she said. “It’s really good to be back, you know?”
Far from being a revelation, Gill reiterated his long-held belief that GameStop management would one day, somehow, revitalize the chain. This is “not a guarantee,” he hastily added, but the man who runs the company, billionaire businessman Ryan Cohen, “seems to be doing the right thing.”
“In this case the absence of evidence is not the proof of absence,” he insisted on the GameStop turnaround. However, when it became clear that there would be no major news on its live broadcast, the company’s stock continued to sink.
“I’m not saying anything right,” he continued, as the stock fell as much as 40% lower than at the start of the day. “I’m saying the wrong things right now. Where is the eject button?
After a while, he found it. “Greetings everyone for now,” Gill said, sipping a beer before saying goodbye. “We’ll see what happens from here.”