Krispy Kreme Stock Plummets as Meme Trade Momentum Fades

Krispy Kreme (DNUT) shares tumbled 8.8% in Tuesday trading, extending losses after a speculative rally fueled by meme-stock mania earlier this month. The decline outpaced modest dips in broader indices, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite falling 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.

The doughnut chain's valuation surge—still up 41.5% over the past month—had detached from fundamentals, mirroring patterns seen in crypto meme coins. Market participants now price in delayed Federal Reserve rate cuts, removing a key catalyst for speculative assets. This sentiment shift echoes cryptocurrency markets, where traders similarly recalibrate expectations around monetary policy impacts on risk appetite.

Unlike blue-chip crypto assets with institutional adoption narratives, Krispy Kreme's volatility highlights the fragility of momentum-driven trades. The stock's trajectory mirrors the boom-bust cycles observed in meme cryptocurrencies, where social media hype often outweighs underlying utility.