Money with Murphy: Meme Stocks: Risk vs. Reward in Today’s Market
Money with Murphy: Meme Stocks: Risk vs. Reward in Today’s Market
A new wave of meme stock mania has taken over social media, sending the prices of some surprising companies soaring. But behind the hype lies a cautionary tale—just ask investors who bought AMC at its peak during the 2021 frenzy. In this week’s Money with Murphy, Kara Murphy draws on her experience as a former stock analyst to explain why chasing momentum can backfire, and what investors should focus on instead. Spoiler: fundamentals still matter.
Markets covered a lot of ground in 2025 but remained resilient. Tariff announcements in the first quarter of the year led to a significant drawdown and volatility across the globe. Yet, markets immediately bounced back to reach record highs with strong earnings growth fueled by AI-driven technology companies. Kara’s year in review covers the year’s biggest stories.
I talk to many investors around the country and the most common question I’ve been getting the last few months has been: are we in an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble? While we believe we are still in the early days of the AI buildout, the best way to cushion your portfolio from a potentially rocky road ahead is to own asset classes that behave differently from each other. One such differentiated asset class is emerging markets, potentially one of the most underrated storylines in the market this year. So far in 2025, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index has returned more than 25%, nearly 10% higher than the S&P 500. This strength comes after over a decade of trailing the U.S. stock market. What’s driving this reversal in emerging market stocks and is it sustainable?
November 18, 2025 Kara Murphy, CFA Resilience in the Face of Tariffs In April, the new Trump administration announced an extensive set of tariffs. In response to the sharp shift away from nearly 100 years of lower barriers to trade, stocks plummeted. In a five-day period from April 2 to April 8, the S&P 500 fell by more than 11%, extending losses that had started months earlier. As the S&P 500 neared bear market territory, the administration paused a large share of the tariffs for 90 days. The pause prompted a rally in stocks even more virulent than the recent decline. The market has returned about 15% so far this year, which follows two consecutive years with returns over 20%.
