GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) stock is bucking the broad market trend this morning, up 5% to trade at $18.75. The video game retailer reported preliminary second-quarter guidance that impressed, with operating and net incomes jumping year over year. GameStop also announced it will pay 27% of its $1.4 billion debt exchange through cash.
GameStop stock hit a 52-week low of $17.79 on Aug. 20. The shares are down 6.6% in 2026 and 15.4% in the last 12 months, but don't tell that to options traders.
GME's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 9.62 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands in the 996th percentile of its annual range.
It's more of the same today. At last look, 41,000 calls have changed hands in the first hour of trading, volume that's triple the average intraday amount and almost seven times the number of puts exchanged. The weekly 9/4 19-strike call leads the charge.
A short squeeze could be in play. Bearish bets have tapered off in the most recent reporting period, but the 53.74 million shares sold short account for 13% of GME's total available float. At the stock's average pace of trading, it would take shorts nine trading days to buy back their bearish bets.
