Beyond Meat Stock Crushed Nvidia Last Week. But Does That Make the Meme Stock a No-Brainer Buy Today?

For the last three years, investors have been bombarded with storylines about the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and which companies are leading the charge in this new technology revolution.

At the center of the AI narrative is semiconductor powerhouse Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), whose graphics processing units (GPUs) are considered the gold standard for building generative AI applications. The number of stocks that have managed to consistently outperform Nvidia throughout the AI boom is extremely limited.

Last week, however, the chip leader's share price performance was completely overshadowed by another member of the Nasdaq. Perhaps ironically, though, it was not a technology company that generated these superior gains. Of all available opportunities, Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) stock crushed Nvidia last week.

Between Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, shares of Beyond Meat surged 238%. Meanwhile, Nvidia stock was essentially flat during the same period.

BYND data by YCharts.

Is now the time to forget about Nvidia and buy Beyond Meat stock? Let's take a look.

Key factors driving Nvidia's stock performance in 2025

Through the first 10 months of the year, Nvidia stock has gained an impressive 51%. This ascent, however, has been anything but linear. During the first few months of the year, Nvidia's share price movements were pretty choppy.

The first leg of Nvidia's sell-off followed reports that a Chinese start-up called DeepSeek built a large language model (LLM) on par with ChatGPT, but did so using a cluster of older GPU architectures. The initial reaction from investors was a mixture of fear and panic, as some posited the notion that Nvidia's next-generation chips may be rendered obsolete for future AI development.

The more pronounced decline in Nvidia's market value occurred in April, after U.S. President Donald Trump declared "Liberation Day" and introduced a series of new tariffs placed on major U.S. trade partners.

NVDA data by YCharts.

Since Nvidia stock hit bottom in April, shares have rocketed by 84% as of this writing (Oct. 31). The key forces driving renewed enthusiasm around Nvidia can be summed up in one word: infrastructure.

Major hyperscalers such as Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon, in conjunction with infrastructure services providers like Oracle, CoreWeave, and Nebius, continue to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into capital expenditures (capex) to procure chips and expand their data center footprints.

To help drive home how powerful the tailwinds of AI infrastructure are for Nvidia, CEO Jensen Huang revealed that the company has an order book of $500 billion for its latest Blackwell chips and upcoming Rubin architecture.

Against this backdrop, the macro trends suggest that Nvidia's business remains in a position of strength, despite the rumors around DeepSeek and the idea that tariffs would lead to higher costs and tighter budgets for businesses.

Key factors driving Beyond Meat's recent stock surge

At its core, Beyond Meat makes plant-based alternatives to traditional meat products. On the surface, Beyond Meat might look like a natural disruptor to established food companies, especially as people increasingly shift toward healthier lifestyles. But as the financial profile below indicates, the appetite for Beyond Meat looks sparse.

BYND Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts.

For years, the company's revenue has plateaued -- well below prior peaks witnessed between 2020 and 2022. Moreover, Beyond Meat's gross margins are contracting, and free cash flow remains negative. The combination of decelerating revenue growth and ongoing cash burn is a recipe for a distressed balance sheet.

Given the company's weaking liquidity profile, Beyond Meat recently completed a $1.1 billion convertible note offering. Shortly thereafter, the company surprised investors again -- this time announcing a new distribution deal with retail giant Walmart.

As these events came to light, some wily investors took to social media -- namely X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit -- and created a hype narrative around Beyond Meat and the potential for a turnaround in the making. Similar to what we saw with GameStop in 2021, retail investors bought into the FOMO and began buying Beyond Meat stock in droves.

Throughout the latter half of October, Beyond Meat swiftly became the newest meme stock favored by day traders, fueling its price by more than 200% in a single week.

Image source: Beyond Meat.

Beyond Meat vs. Nvidia: Which is the better stock to buy right now?

Generally speaking, I tend to avoid investing in momentum stocks. It's virtually impossible to predict when a rally will fade, and the last thing an investor looking to build durable wealth should do is chase an opportunity to make a quick buck. Following Beyond Meat's activity might be entertaining, but buying the stock now is almost a surefire way to become a bag holder.

Instead, investors should think about the long term. While its performance this year has exhibited more volatility than most investors would probably like, Nvidia has held up quite well when you consider the bigger picture.

Nvidia recently became the first stock to achieve a $5 trillion market cap, cementing it as the most valuable company in the world by a wide margin. With the long-term secular tailwinds from AI infrastructure, in combination with multiple emerging pockets in the broader AI realm -- from autonomous systems to robotics and advancements in quantum computing -- Nvidia's roadmap looks better than ever.

Image source: Getty Images.

I think Nvidia's value is headed much higher over the next several years, and see the company as the no-brainer option when compared to a risky meme stock like Beyond Meat.

Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Beyond Meat, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.