Meme Stocks List: Companies Riding the Retail Hype Wave

The term “meme stock” was first used on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets subreddit around 2015, but the phenomenon exploded during the pandemic when retail traders coordinated massive buying campaigns that sent share prices soaring far above levels supported by business fundamentals. Stock analyst Keith Gill kicked off the most famous episode when he posted his GameStop position to r/WallStreetBets in September 2019 — setting the stage for a short squeeze that would trigger Congressional hearings and inspire the 2023 film Dumb Money.

A meme stock is defined by two features: its popularity is driven by internet buzz rather than financial performance, and its trading volume comes overwhelmingly from retail investors rather than institutional funds. In many cases, these stocks carry high short interest, meaning a large portion of shares have been borrowed and sold by traders betting the price will fall. When coordinated buying pushes the price up instead, short sellers are forced to cover their positions — creating a feedback loop known as a short squeeze. GameStop’s public float was approximately 140% sold short when the original squeeze began.

Notable meme stocks include:

• GameStop (GME) — the video game retailer that sparked the original short squeeze and became the face of the movement
• AMC Entertainment (AMC) — the movie theater chain that publicly embraced its meme stock status on social media
• BlackBerry (BB) — a legacy technology company swept up in the first wave of meme trading
• Nokia (NOK) — rallied alongside GameStop during the initial squeeze
• Koss Corporation (KOSS) — a headphone manufacturer that experienced extreme volatility during the frenzy
• Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) — saw multiple meme-driven rallies before eventually filing for bankruptcy

Roundhill Investments once launched a dedicated Meme Stock ETF (ticker: MEME) to track stocks with elevated social media activity and high short interest, but it was closed less than two years later due to insufficient trading volume. Academic research has found that the GameStop squeeze was largely driven by just 462 highly influential subreddit users — a reminder of how concentrated the forces behind meme stock moves can be.

Meme stocks predominantly trade on U.S. stock exchanges, and many overlap with penny stocks or small-cap companies in terms of market capitalization and risk profile.

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The table below lists historically significant meme stocks and companies with strong retail trading interest, with live price and market data updated automatically.