GameStop, which collaborated with PSA on a grading partnership last October, is making trading cards a priority.
“We are focusing on trading cards as a natural extension of our existing business,” CEO Ryan Cohen told shareholders in the company’s first quarter earnings call. “Unlike software, it’s tactile. Unlike hardware, it has high margin potential. It’s a logical expansion.”
The company’s partnership with PSA allows collectors to submit trading cards for grading at 1,360 GameStop stores, with plans to expand that number this year. So far, over one million cards—TCG and sports—have been submitted through GameStop’s brick-and-mortar locations.
GameStop recently announced its first profitable first quarter since 2019 and Cohen has mentioned the company’s partnership with PSA as having contributed significantly to the company’s financial turnaround. Collectibles, including trading cards, accounted for 29% of GameStop’s sales in the first quarter of 2025, with a 50% increase in the segment.
GameStop’s shift aligns with its strategy to diversify from declining video game sales. The trading card market fits GameStop’s retail model, trade-in system, and customer base, as Cohen has noted. Collectors can also sell cards to GameStop and purchase them through the company’s online store.
“Our collectibles business, particularly trading cards, is gaining momentum,” Cohen told investors. “We’re leveraging our store footprint to become a destination for card collectors, with Pokémon and sports cards driving significant growth.”
This week, GameStop announced plans to raise $1.75 billion through Convertible Senior Notes and giving investors the chance to buy an additional $250 million worth of notes, potentially increasing the total to $2 billion.
By issuing the zero-interest notes, GameStop is raising money without immediate costs (like interest payments). It allows them to fund without touching their reported $5 billion in cash reserves, which offers an opportunity for other big moves, such as acquisitions.
Collectors, parent company of PSA, was valued at $4.3 billion in March 2022 when it raised $100 million in new funding. The company is now private and its current valuation is unknown.
Nat Turner, CEO of Collectors, joined GameStop’s Board of Directors in November 2024.
