Markets
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Luke Kawa

The Hail Mary options bets on another GameStop mania are getting crushed

The lottery-ticket bets looking for another round of intense speculative fervor in GameStop by midway through this month have turned to ashes.

For the January 17 expiry, which is just 14 days away, the most popular option by far are calls with a strike price of $125 — that is, nearly 300% above its current price.

A series of large wagers on another frenzy were made via these call options on December 16, with lopsided options activity that was eerily similar to what preceded the embattled video game and collectibles retailer’s parabolic move higher in the second quarter of 2024. Since that session, even as GameStop shares have rallied about 8% (while the S&P 500 has given back more than 2%), the price of those options contracts has cratered.

On December 16, those options ended the day at $1 with a volume-weighted average price of a little more than $0.75. They’re now trading at $0.15 — 80% below that volume-weighted average price. The nice bump in the stock has been nowhere near robust enough to lift the options as their time value decays.

The open interest has edged higher over this period alongside elevated trading activity in the contract. Volumes were particularly elevated at year-end, with most transactions taking place on the bid side, indicating a motivated seller. So, while the original buyer may have exited the position, there’s still a lot of seemingly extremely low-probability lottery tickets floating around out there.

To quote a track from Light Sweet Crude, “No matter how low you get, you can always go down another 100%.”

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Crocs rises on new marketing campaign for HeyDude brand starring Sydney Sweeney


Sydney Sweeney has great... feet?

Shares of Crocs are rising after the footwear company’s HeyDude brand unveiled a new marketing effort starring actress Sydney Sweeney for its Austin Lift shoe line.

Sweeney’s controversial ad campaign for American Eagle spurred a massive jump in the denim maker’s shares, caught the attention of the president, and prompted “an uptick in customer awareness, engagement, and comparable sales,” per American Eagle’s management.

Sweeney was first announced as HeyDude’s global spokesperson in August 2024, and doesn’t seem to have given the brand a major boost so far.

Max Knoblauch
9/26/25

Ford and GM reach 52-week highs as EPA seeks to repeal emissions rules

Shares of Ford and GM are each trading at 52-week highs on Friday, as investors pile into gas-powered US automakers with the looming end of the EV tax credit and the Trump administration’s potential repeal of vehicle emissions standards.

A lobby representing Ford, GM, and nearly all other major automakers has expressed support for the EPA’s proposal to repeal the long-standing endangerment finding that declared greenhouse gases a threat to human life. The finding provides the legal foundation for the EPA to regulate vehicle emissions.

Yesterday, EV giant Tesla urged the Trump administration to keep the standards in place.

Friday afternoon saw Ford shares reach their highest level since July 2024, while GM’s stock hit highs not seen since January 2022.

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Matt Phillips9/26/25
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Luke Kawa

GameStop surges as company offers promotions to boost launch of “Pokémon” Mega Evolution set

GameStop is jumping as the company offers promotions to boost interest for today’s North American launch of the Mega Evolution set of the “Pokémon Trading Card Game.”

Options activity is a little more tilted to the bull side than usual. Over the past month, a little less than four calls have changed hands for every put option. As of 10:22 a.m. ET, that ratio is over five to one.

It’s a big day for collectibles fans and gamers alike: beyond the “Pokémon TCG” drop, there are also new collections from “Yu-Gi-Oh!” and “Magic: The Gathering” being released and “EA SPORTS FC 26,” as well.

As we’ve written, “Pokémon” trading cards have been skyrocketing in value, and GameStop’s collectibles business has been accelerating. These are two sides of the same coin.

Mega Gardevoir... here I come!

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