Around lunchtime, in a live YouTube broadcast watched by half a million people, a bandanna-clad man wearing white sunglasses smiled at his webcam and joked: “I’m about to show it.”
Oh stop. He meant his brokerage account.
On screen is Keith Gill, the man known as Roaring Kitty, who became one of Wall Street’s most unexpected celebrities during the meme stock mania of 2021 before disappearing from public view – and in his signature style, mixing beer, comedy and market commentary.
Quick refresher: Three years ago, Mr. Gill’s unrestrained cheerleading for GameStop and other companies on social media has made him a kind of rabbi to the thousands of day traders stuck at home during the pandemic — people who have bought huge amounts of stocks and pushed stock prices to nosebleed levels. These traders’ use of internet memes and social platforms like Reddit to trade stock tips has given rise to a new class of investors.
Mr. Gill, 37, whose fame was such that he testified before Congress and inspired a movie called “Dumb Money,” has been out of the spotlight for the better part of three years, having come under some regulatory scrutiny. It returned to the top spot last month Posting on X is a mysterious illustration Which many took as a sign that he had returned to day trading.
The post was followed by more cryptic social media messages and a screenshot leak on Reddit showing Mr. Jill had more than $100 million in stock and options betting on GameStop. Its shares rose immediately — “to the moon,” in meme-speak. The video game retailer used the opportunity to sell new shares, raising more than $900 million.
Thus, anticipation was high when Mr. Gill’s dormant YouTube account on Thursday carried an announcement that he would be hosting a broadcast at noon the next day. CNBC broadcast the conversation live to speculate on what he might say. The Wall Street Journal created a live blog.
Then the unexpected happened. On Friday morning, GameStop released a An earnings report ahead of schedule that revealed disappointing sales and a surprise plan to sell more shares publicly. Its stock fell significantly.
By noon, when mr. Gill was expected to go live, and GameStop shares fell more than 30 percent. It wasn’t until about 12:30 p.m. when – after the Muzak rock preamble – Mr. Jill’s camera lit up.
Wearing his signature bandanna, Mr. Gil was also wearing fake ropes, sitting in front of a display of Gamestop’s falling stock price, while a heart monitor sounded in the background.
“I’m fine?” He said. “Which had a close call.”
Mr. Gill immediately launched into his signature comedic trademark: “Oh my God, there are crazy heads in here,” wowing the 650,000 viewers. He joked that he was not Paul Dano, the actor who played him on the big screen. Drink a beer.
A few minutes later, Mr. Gill stepped into the GameStop discussion, praising its management team and saying he saw potential for its stock. Clearly, this was not what everyone saw, because the company’s shares continued to weaken as he spoke.
“Oh no, I’m causing you to get off,” Mr. Jill said at one point. More than 100,000 fans logged out of the broadcast.
About half an hour into the show, sir. Jill made the big reveal. He switched the display on his screen from GameStop stock to an image he identified as his personal e-commerce account, revealing what appeared to be his large bets on the stock.
The photo showed property worth about $350 million, which is a large amount, although it was probably much more; On Friday alone, Sir, Generation dropped $235 million.
There wasn’t much to say after that. Mr. Gill, who had been known to stream for hours on end during the pandemic, logged off Friday after 48 minutes.
“It was a lot of inattentiveness because of the lack of content,” said Lorne Baykoff, an investor in New York.
GameStop shares closed down 39% on the day, about $28 a share — lower than when Mr. Trump made the announcement. Jill started talking.
Kitty Bennett Contributed to research.
