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Over the past several days, the share prices of three companies have surged 25% or more in a single trading session. Those companies are Krispy Kreme, GoPro, and Kohls. Yet none of these firms have made any major announcements of late that support such lofty rises in their stock prices. So why are their share prices skyrocketing? It looks like meme stock mania is back. What is a meme stock? The term meme stock first gained popularity during the early pandemic years. During the 2020-2021 period, many people were confined indoors due to lockdowns or a general fear of going out, so they turned to the internet to pass the time, often taking on new digital hobbies or joining new communities. For many, a new hobby emerged: online investing. As a result, many of these new investors turned to social media for advice on which stocks to buy. Perhaps the most popular social media community for stock advice was the Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets, and it is in this community where many consider meme stock mania to have originated. A meme stock is generally defined as a stock that is promoted by members of an online community, such as the one found in the r/wallstreetbets subreddit. Proponents of a meme stock buy shares of a stock at a low priceoften in struggling companies with some brand name awarenessand then promote it, attempting to build hype and a positive narrative about the stock, as noted by Investopedia. The goal is to get in on the meme stock while the price is low, see the value surge as more people who are afraid of missing out on a 10x or 100x bagger buy into the stock, and then often to get out of the stock before the hype collapses and the shares crash again. As Reuters points out, meme stocks are often heavily shorted. The rise in share prices for these stocks force investors who had bet against the stock to sell their shares to limit their losses. In the early pandemic years, two of the most popular meme stocks were the struggling video game retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) and movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC). But now, as of this week, theres a new trio of meme stocks sending a frenzy through online trading communities. Krispy Kreme Probably the most well-known meme stock among the new trio is Krispy Kreme (Nasdaq: DNUT), the donut company that loves giving away tasty treats. Over the past day or so, people have been talking up DNUT stock on social media, and as a result, Krispy Kreme shares have surged. Yesterday, Krispy Kremes stock price jumped a staggering 26% in a single trading session. DNUT stock went up 87 cents per share to close at $4.13. And today the stock is surging again in premarket trading, as of the time of this writing. DNUT shares are currently up another 25%. GoPro Another moderately well-known brand name is also the newest meme stock. GoPro, Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRO), maker of the tiny portable cameras that are popular with extreme sports enthusiasts, saw its shares blast off yesterday. In Tuesdays trading session, GPRO shares leaped an asounting 41%. The companys stock price went up 39 cents per share to $1.37 by market close. And today, GPRO stock is trending even higher. As of the time of this writing, in premarket trading, GoPro shares are up another 56% to $2.14 per share. Kohls The third meme stock in this latest trinity is Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS). The clothing retailers shares jumped a massive 37% yesterday in a single trading session. During the period, KSS shares climbed $3.92 to $14.34. The volatility led to trading being temporarily halted, as CNBC reported. But as of premarket trading this morning, KSS shares arent having continued gains. The stock is currently trading flat in premarket, according to data from Yahoo Finance. Fast Company reached out to Krispy Kreme, GoPro, and Kohl’s for comment. A cautionary tale Its hard not to see single-day gains of 25% to 50% in a stock and not feel the urge to buy in. However, most financial advisors would advise against buying into a meme stock as they are considered a relatively high-risk investment. Thats because meme stocks see their prices surge due to the hype online communities build up around that stock, not due to any firm fundamentals of the company itself. This online hype often leads many to buy into the stock, causing its price to surge. But if the fundamentals of a company do not support the stocks price, the stock will most likely crash, and investors who got in at the wrong time could see their entire investment washed away. Take one of the most popular meme stocks in history, for example. People went crazy for AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC) in December 2020. That month, the stock was trading for around a low of $20, according to Yahoo Finance data. But then meme mania bit, and by June 2021, AMC shares were over $566 each. Yet by the next month, AMC shares had declined to $370 apiece, and by December 2021, they were in the low $40s. As of yesterdays close, AMC shares are worth $3.50 each. The lesson here is that meme stocks can surge in price rapidly, but they can fall just as rapidly, too.
Category:
E-Commerce
Tesla is likely to post its biggest drop in quarterly revenue in more than a decade on Wednesday, as the EV maker grapples with issues including increased competition, a lack of new models and consumer backlash against CEO Elon Musk. Here are the top five issues investors, analysts and Tesla fans are watching closely. WILL MUSK BE DISTRACTED BY POLITICS? Musk formed a new U.S. political party, the America Party, earlier this month, after a public feud with President Donald Trump over a tax-cut and spending bill. Three months ago, when he was still allied with Trump, Musk said he was pulling back from working in the president’s administration. Founding the party has rekindled worries that Musk will be distracted from business as it faces mounting competition, especially in its key China market, and as he tries to turn Tesla into a robotics and AI company. Musk said on Sunday that he was back to working seven days a week and sleeping in the office when his small children were away. HOW FAST CAN ROBOTAXI SERVICES EXPAND? Last month, Tesla launched a small trial of its self-driving taxi service in Austin, Texas, with roughly a dozen of its Model Y SUVs and several restrictions, including safety supervisors in front passenger seats. Tesla enthusiasts lauded the efforts, although videos showed some driving mistakes. Musk has said the service would reach the San Francisco Bay Area “in a month or two,” depending on regulatory approvals, but Tesla has not applied for necessary permits to test or deploy driverless vehicles, regulators in California told Reuters this month. Investors will want to know how the expansion can go forward. WHERE IS THE CHEAPER TESLA? When Musk shifted his focus to robotaxis, he cancelled plans to build a new, cheaper EV platform. Tesla had promised to start producing the first of more affordable EV models by the end of June, but the company has not yet confirmed if it has met that target. Investors are keen for an update on those plans. Sources had told Reuters in April that a stripped-down version of the Model Y was likely to be delayed by months. Analysts have already cut their 2025 delivery estimate for the cheaper car to below 50,000 vehicles, from 63,500 at the start of the year, according to eight of them polled by Visible Alpha. CAN THE MODEL Y REFRESH BOOST SALES? Tesla rolled out a refreshed version of the Model Y this year, a move investors hoped would recharge flagging sales. Deliveries of the SUV and its Model 3 compact sedan Tesla’s volume drivers plunged in the second quarter. While Tesla blamed a January production pause to retool plants, some analysts have said the re-styling including new front and rear light bars and a touchscreen for back-seat passengers was not enough to boost demand. Investors will want to know Musk’s view of the rollout to date and going forward. With total deliveries falling 13.5% to 384,122 units in the second quarter, the second straight quarterly decline, revenue is expected to fall 11.2% year-on-year, despite aggressive discounting and low-cost financing. HOW SOON WILL REGULATORY CREDITS DWINDLE? Sales of regulatory credits a silent profit engine for Tesla are set to dry up after recent legislation. Tesla earned $2.8 billion in 2024 from such credits sold to legacy automakers to help them comply with emissions rules. Without them, the company would have reported a loss in the first quarter of this year. Analysts expect pressure on Tesla and they are already resetting their revenue estimates for the year. Akash Sriram and Abhirup Roy, Reuters
Category:
E-Commerce
Jon Stewart, who hosted The Daily Show on Comedy Central from 1999 to 2015 and has returned for once-a-week hosting stints since 2024, lashed out at his show’s parent company for choosing to unceremoniously end The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and discontinue the franchise. In a segment on Monday, Stewart noted his well-documented allegiance to Colbert, even showing a photo of the duo when they were both on The Daily Show from 1999 to 2005. While statements about the events surrounding the cancellation of The Late Show have been made by many celebrities on social mediaand even by hosts of other late-night programsStewart added to the conversation by boldly calling out CBS for appearing to overlook the value that compelling late-night programs bring to the media giants that own them. I understand the fear that you and your advertisers have with $8 billion at stake, but understand this: Truly, the shows that you now seek to cancel, censor, and controla not insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those fucking showsthats what made you that money, Stewart said directly into the camera. The $8 billion that Stewart is referring to is the proposed merger between Paramount Global, which owns CBS, and Skydance, a production company founded and helmed by David Ellison, son of tech billionaire and Trump supporter Larry Ellison. The deal has faced regulatory hurdles, first under the Biden administration and then under the Trump administration. All of this also comes as CBS News announced in July that it will settle a lawsuit filed against 60 Minutes by Trump, who claims that the show unfairly edited an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris to make her look more favorable. The fact that CBS didnt try to save their No. 1-rated network late-night franchise thats been on the air for over three decades is part of whats making everyone wonder, was this purely financial or maybe the path of least-resistance for your $8 billion merger? Stewart asked on his show. Fast Company reached out to CBS, Paramount Global, and Skydance Media. None immediately responded to a request for comment. CBS has referred to the decision to cancel The Late Show as a financial one and unrelated to the show’s content, citing a “challenging backdrop” for late-night television. Although The Late Show has reportedly been losing roughly $40 million a year, according to a source cited by the Wall Street Journal, Stewarts larger point is buoyed by the fact that Paramount earns more than half of its revenue from its television businesses. Indeed, Paramount has played up its TV assets, including The Late Show and much of its news content, in its pitch to investors about the proposed merger. Colbert’s image appears multiple times on the New Paramount PowerPoint presentation, with the company touting CBS as a leader in late-night TV. Ratings from Nielsen likewise show The Late Show as the top-rated show in its block, with about 2.417 million viewers across 41 new episodes. If you believe, as corporations or as networks, you can make yourself so innocuous, that you can serve a gruel so flavorless that you will never again be on the boy kings radar? A) why would anyone watch you? And B) you are fucking wrong, Stewart said.
Category:
E-Commerce
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