Why Kohl's Stands Apart From Other Meme Stocks in Today's Market

The Unusual Case of a Meme Stock With Underlying Fundamentals

The meme stock phenomenon continues to capture traders’ attention in 2025, yet Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) represents a distinctly different breed compared to earlier sensations like AMC Entertainment and GameStop. While those original “meme kings” saw valuations spiral far beyond any rational connection to business performance, Kohl’s tells a more complex story. Despite its recent popularity among meme traders, shares currently trade substantially below what the company’s tangible assets actually support—a rarity in the meme stock universe.

How Kohl’s Attracted the Meme Trading Community

During summer months, when Kohl’s stock price accelerated from single-digit territory toward the mid-teens, retail traders pursued their familiar playbook: engineering a short squeeze. The retailer had accumulated meaningful short interest, yet the meme community’s organizational capacity in 2025 pales compared to its 2021 peak. Consequently, the coordinated push failed to propel the stock to astronomical levels. Instead, current price levels appear more closely aligned with the company’s actual earnings power, which paradoxically creates a disconnect with traditional meme stock behavior.

The Overlooked Value Proposition Embedded in Real Estate

Here’s where Kohl’s diverges sharply from past meme rallies. In 2022, a buyout proposal valued the entire company at $60 per share, with the retailer’s extensive real estate portfolio driving much of that premium. That same year, a private equity investor separately bid $2 billion exclusively for the underlying property assets.

According to Kohl’s most recent annual disclosure, land and building holdings carry a book value of $9.44 billion. This alone exceeds the company’s current enterprise value—the combined measure of market capitalization plus net debt—by approximately $1 billion. The existing market capitalization sits at merely $1.76 billion, suggesting that a real estate monetization strategy could unlock gains substantially exceeding the present stock valuation.

Yet this asset angle shouldn’t automatically become an investment thesis anchor. Just as the short squeeze narrative failed to materialize, depending entirely on property divestiture remains speculative. The authentic catalyst reshaping this investment’s trajectory will require successful execution of an operational turnaround—a fundamental business improvement rather than financial engineering.

The Path Forward Depends on Operational Excellence

For prospective investors evaluating whether to commit capital to Kohl’s, the central question narrows to a single proposition: Do you genuinely believe management can engineer a credible business turnaround? Without conviction on this operational dimension, neither the meme angle nor the liquidation value argument provides a sufficiently compelling entry point.

Recent analysis from institutional research platforms has identified stocks they consider superior deployment opportunities for growth-oriented investors. When Netflix appeared on such recommendation lists in December 2004, a $1,000 initial investment subsequently generated $576,882 in returns. Similarly, Nvidia’s inclusion in April 2005 turned the same $1,000 into $1,119,006. These platforms report cumulative average returns exceeding 1,002%—substantially outpacing the S&P 500’s 190% performance—which underscores how critical stock selection remains for long-term wealth accumulation.

The ultimate determination on Kohl’s belongs with individual investors who have independently formed their perspective on whether operational improvement can genuinely materialize for this retailer.