Retail investors generated significant buzz around five notable stocks during the week of January 2 to January 9, 2026. Discussions on platforms like X and Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets highlighted a mix of corporate developments, AI advancements, and retail enthusiasm. The stocks drawing attention included GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA).
GameStop’s Ambitious CEO Compensation
On January 7, GameStop announced a substantial performance-based compensation package for its CEO, Ryan Cohen. The board granted him options to purchase up to 171.5 million shares at a price of $20.66 each, potentially worth approximately $35 billion if fully vested. Notably, this package includes no guaranteed salary or bonuses, aligning Cohen’s incentives with ambitious company milestones, such as increasing the market capitalization from $9 billion to $100 billion and achieving $10 billion in cumulative EBITDA. Retail investors viewed this announcement as a signal to rally around the stock, which was trading between $20 and $23 per share. Over the past year, GME’s stock had declined by 33.70%, with a recent six-month drop of 7.30%.
Nvidia’s AI Innovations and Market Performance
During the CES 2026 keynote, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the new Vera Rubin AI platform. The company also introduced the Alpamayo family of open AI models designed for autonomous vehicles, with their first rollout in partnership with Mercedes-Benz in the United States expected this year. Nvidia’s CFO, Colette Kress, affirmed that the company’s AI visibility has reached $500 billion, a significant increase since the last GTC conference in October. Retail investors are optimistic about NVDA reaching $190 per share. The stock’s performance over the past year showed a return of 36.15%, with current trading prices around $184 to $186 per share.
Alphabet Surpasses Apple in Market Capitalization
Alphabet made headlines by surpassing Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in market capitalization for the first time since 2019, reclaiming the second spot globally with a valuation between $3.89 trillion and $3.96 trillion. This resurgence was attributed to robust performance gains in 2025, outpacing other tech giants. On January 8, Google launched significant AI enhancements powered by Gemini 3 for Gmail, including features such as AI Overviews and personalized writing assistance. Despite this success, some retail investors expressed caution regarding current price levels for GOOG, which was trading around $329 to $330 per share, having risen 68.77% over the past year.
Tesla’s AI Investment and Sales Surge
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company plans to invest approximately $10 billion in Nvidia hardware for AI training by the end of the year. He cautioned that costs could double without Tesla’s proprietary AI4 chips. Musk also teased the upcoming Tesla Roadster as a high-performance vehicle prioritizing excitement. Additionally, Tesla plans to establish its own 2nm chip fabrication facility. The company reported a 13.2% increase in sales in China for December, instilling confidence among retail investors that TSLA could rebound. The stock was trading between $435 and $436 per share, reflecting a 10.40% increase over the past year.
Strategy Inc.’s Losses and Bitcoin Holdings
Strategy Inc. faced challenges, disclosing a significant unrealized loss of $17.44 billion in its digital assets due to Bitcoin’s quarterly decline of approximately 25%. Despite this setback, the company acquired 1,286 to 1,287 BTC for around $116 million, raising its total holdings to 673,783 BTC. In a positive turn, MSCI announced that it would not exclude digital asset treasury companies like Strategy Inc. from its global indexes at this time. Retail investors maintained a bullish stance, countering bearish sentiments. As of the latest data, the stock traded between $165 and $167 per share, reflecting a decline of 49.08% over the past year.
Overall, the retail investment landscape blended meme-driven narratives with earnings outlooks and corporate news, as major U.S. indices like the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq exhibited mixed performance during the first full week of the new year.
