Sept. 30, 2023 marked a dark day for retail investors. Bed Bath and Beyond, a company that had long been a favorite among the r/WallStreetBets crowd, ceased to trade. After declaring bankruptcy in April 2023, the home furnishing retailer was delisted from the Nasdaq and began to trade via an over-the-counter (OTC) exchange. That’s often an early nail in a company’s coffin, and in the case of Bed Bath & Beyond, it proved no different. Now, BBBYQ stock no longer exists. Anyone who did not sell before that iconic day is now holding an empty bag. As InvestorPlace assistant news writer Shrey Dua reported, the company’s bankruptcy plan included no recovery compensation for investors.

Sometimes holding meme stocks for too long doesn’t pay.

There’s an important lesson for even the more risk-averse traders in the tragedy of Bed Bath & Beyond. No matter how high retail interest takes a meme stock, it will inevitably fall. When a short squeeze is over, it is difficult for these companies to regain the type of momentum they once enjoyed. No matter how hard retail investors are pushing, most meme stocks are weighed down by poor management and questionable fundamentals. This is exactly what has led Wall Street to bet against it. There’s a reason that terms like “bankruptcy” and “delist” are often associated with these unstable companies. Despite recent conspiracy theories, Bed Bath & Beyond is gone, and it’s not coming back.

This leads us to an important question, though: Which meme stock will be the next to crash, burn and disappear?

The Next Bed Bath & Beyond

There are many companies that could follow Bed Bath & Beyond down the rabbit hole of bankruptcy and delisting. But here are five names that are especially likely to go the way of BBBYQ.

• AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC): This theater company is a constant favorite among retail investors. But for all the attention it receives, AMC stock just can’t grow. Even announcing partnerships with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé hasn’t helped boost shares. More importantly, as InvestorPlace contributor Ian Bezek reports, “AMC was barely profitable even prior to the pandemic.” Since then, its prospects have remained bleak, and they show no signs of improving.
• Meta Materials (NASDAQ:MMAT): Investors should always approach a company mirrored in this much controversy with extreme caution. This functional materials producer is best known for the trading halt that ensued when it spun off its preferred shares in December 2022. Since then, it has only plunged, falling more than 80% year-to-date (YTD). The company is currently trying to regain Nasdaq compliance. But even its recent extension isn’t likely to save it from the inevitable.
• Mullen Automotive (NASDAQ:MULN): This electric vehicle (EV) producer has fallen more than 98% in just the past two quarters. That doesn’t seem to concern its highly motivated investor base, no matter how much it should. And while the EV market is booming, MULN has only struggled. And as InvestorPlace contributor Chris MacDonald notes, there are much better options for investors seeking exposure. Additionally, the threat of being delisted from the Nasdaq constantly hangs over its head.
• Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) Mullen isn’t the only EV penny stock that investors should steer clear of. Nikola has a past that is almost as troubling as it includes its founder and former CEO being jailed for fraud. Since then, the stock hasn’t recovered, and the company has revealed highly troubling fundamentals that include a decreasing cash balance. NKLA stock trades at a higher level than MULN, but that isn’t saying much.
• Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON): Looking at this stock’s performance, it’s hard to believe that Peloton was once a pandemic-era winner. The at-home fitness innovator enjoyed a surge to the top during the 2020 lockdowns, but since then, it has failed to adapt. It currently trades at just above penny stock status. Given that it once reached $167 per share, that is a truly troubling trajectory. Moreover, Peloton has done nothing to give investors hope of a recovery, and its financials signal that worse days could lie ahead.

On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.