Stonks
Meme Man in front of a rising stock chart with the misspelled caption STONKS — the ironic finance bro reaction for gains that make no sense.
An image macro pairing the 3D-rendered Meme Man head with a stock market graphic and the word 'STONKS' (a deliberate misspelling of 'stocks'). Signals ironic celebration of financial decisions that are obviously bad — or unexpectedly good. The joke is confident ignorance dressed up as Wall Street wisdom.
History
Know Your Meme traces the earliest Stonks post to a Facebook group in June 2017. Meme Man — the surreal 3D head — was already an established character; adding a rising chart and misspelled caption created a durable finance meme. The format exploded again in 2021 when Reddit's r/wallstreetbets GameStop frenzy brought 'stonks' language into mainstream news.
Cultural scores
Editorial estimates of cultural weight — Current Popularity tracks how much people are posting about this now, not historical fame.
Current Popularity = how actively people are posting about this today. Influence = lasting footprint. Cringe = online reception. Brainrot = absurdist energy. Scores last reviewed 2026-07-25. How scoring works
Timeline
Jun 2017
Earliest documented Stonks macro on Facebook
2018–2019
Spreads on Reddit alongside Not Stonks reverse variants
Jan 2021
GameStop / WSB mania revives Stonks at mainstream scale
2021+
'Not Stonks' and derivative charts remain common
Examples
- “Stonks meme after buying the top of a crypto pump”
- “Not Stonks when a portfolio drops after overconfidence”
- “WSB thread screenshot + Stonks for a YOLO trade”
Media
Stonks — Know Your Meme
Meme Man finance macro origin and WSB revival.
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/stonks
Meme Man — Know Your Meme
Character behind the Stonks template.
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/meme-man
Related entries
Culturally linked — not random recommendations.
Expanding Brain
MemeThe multi-panel 'galaxy brain' template ranking ideas from basic to absurdly enlightened as the brain lights up.
Surprised Pikachu
MemeThe wide-eyed Pikachu reaction face used when an obvious consequence somehow still shocks someone.
Doge
MemeThe iconic Shiba Inu meme that defined an era — 'such wow, very internet' — and eventually inspired a cryptocurrency.
This Is Fine
MemeKC Green's 2013 comic dog calmly sipping coffee in a burning room — the internet's favorite denial emoji.
References
Sources behind this entry. Prefer primary reporting and established culture archives over rumor.
- Stonks — Wikipedia search
en.wikipedia.org