The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division
What if you'd bought GameStop in 2021?
In late January 2021 a short interest above 100% of the float met a wall of Reddit traders, and GameStop ran from a few dollars to an intraday $500 (pre-split) before Robinhood froze the buy button on 28 January. The squeeze made and unmade paper fortunes in days; this Bureau records the mania, it does not recommend re-enacting it.
$100 on 2021-01-04, worth today
US$505
As of 2026-06-12, $100 of GameStop bought at 2021's open (US$4.31) is worth US$505 — 5.05×.
total return · dividends reinvested · USD
How much would $100 of GameStop bought in 2021 be worth today?
| You'd have put in | You'd have now | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| US$100 | US$505 | 5.05× |
| US$1,000 | US$5,048 | 5.05× |
| US$10,000 | US$50,481 | 5.05× |
Lump sum on the year's first trading day, total return (dividends reinvested, splits adjusted), valued at the latest close. Past performance isn't a promise — it's a taunt.
What did GameStop do in 2021?
Opened
US$4.31
2021-01-04
Peaked
US$86.88
2021-01-27
Bottomed
US$4.31
2021-01-04
Closed
US$37.10
2021-12-31
Levels are dividend-adjusted, so historical figures look lower than the headline price of the day — that's the total-return lens, and it's the honest one.
Would steady buying have beaten going all in?
US$28,500 deployed as $100 a week from 2021-01-04, under four temperaments — same money, different nerves.
| All in on day one | US$143,871 |
| Steady weekly buys | US$27,151 |
| Sold dips, rebought rallies | US$18,941 |
| Traded it perfectly | US$6.9M |
“Traded it perfectly” requires knowing the future. Nobody knew the future.
The same $1,000, elsewhere
$1,000 at 2021's open, each valued at the latest close. Hindsight remains undefeated.
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