Why a stock achieves meme stock status is a matter of debate. However, there’s no doubt that FuboTV (NYSE:FUBO) stock did just that.

However, FUBO stock doesn’t hold meme status simply because it’s up more than 150% in the last 12 months.  

I see FUBO as a meme stock for two reasons. First, at two different times in the last 12 months, the stock has spiked well above its consensus estimate. Second, the rise in FUBO stock is mostly due to retail investor activity.

While it appears that FuboTV is starting to generate interest from institutional investors, retail investors are still doing most of the work. 

But investing is a what have you done for me lately affair. Since reporting earnings on August 10, 2021, FUBO stock is down 10%.

This is despite the fact that the streaming service, which focuses on the sports-mided consumer, looked to have a strong tailwind. 

For a fan of live sports, October is one of the best months on the calendar. At some point, all four of the major professional sports are playing.

When you throw college football into the mix there’s something for even casual sports fans to engage with.  

Sports Betting and FUBO

The inability to view live sports was considered a limitation of traditional streaming services. That’s where FuboTV comes in.

The company doesn’t position itself as a replacement to Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) or to Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) the parent company of NBC and its Peacock streaming service. FuboTV views itself as a competitor to traditional cable TV as well as satellite television. 

This is by design. Unlike some other streaming services, FuboTV does not produce original content.

The benefit to this approach is the company does not incur the same production costs as services such as Netflix or Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) do. However, it also leaves the company out of a niche market that consumers still can’t seem to get enough of.

However, management believes that the aggregated approach the company is taking is more in line with what their target audience really wants. That is, they want to be able to watch live sports, and, when they’re not watching live sports, they’re fine with doing without the traditional streaming services.

Alternatively, they find that even with Fubo’s $69 base package, they can still supplement their entertainment with other streaming services. 

At this point, it’s hard to argue with the company’s approach. Revenue in the first two quarters of 2021 is already higher than the company’s revenue for all of 2020.

In its most recent quarter, Fubo TV posted a 196% year-over-year revenue increase. Not surprisingly, the increased revenue is pushing Fubo ever closer to profitability.  

An Immersive Entertainment Experience 

There’s more to the FuboTV story than just a streaming service. In fact, the company is fully immersed in two distinct trends:  consumers who are cutting cords and the growth of online/mobile sports betting.

This makes sense. If there’s one thing that many sports fans enjoy doing more than watching sports, it’s betting on sports.  

Fubo hopes to feed that desire with its own sportsbook. In fact, the company plans to be the first live sync integration of between video and sportsbook.

The company is promising a curated experience in which the app will suggest and update relevant bets in real-time based on whatever game the user is viewing.  

Fubo is working to line up partnerships with professional sports franchises, such as the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Cleveland Cavaliers.

For now, some of these partnerships will be exclusively for marketing purposes, but it will be the precursor to seeding its online gaming service as sports betting becomes legal in more states.  

FUBO Stock Is a Buy, But Be Patient 

I believe that FuboTV is a stock that is strong enough to stand on its own, but it will be tough to get realistic price discovery as long as it’s part of the meme trade.  

The stock does appear to have found a level of support at just below $23 a share in early October.

Bullish investors will want to see if they can push the stock above a level of resistance around $28 a share. If they can, it will lend support to the opinion of my InvestorPlace colleague Tezcan Gecgil who believes FUBO stock could be a short squeeze candidate in October. Short interest is still around 20%.   

If the short squeeze does emerge, be ready to take some profits and buy any dip that comes when the company reports earnings in early November.  

On the date of publication, Chris Markoch 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.  

Chris Markoch is a freelance financial copywriter who has been covering the market for seven years. He has been writing for InvestorPlace since 2019.