If you’re looking up what happened to mso stock, you are likely seeing two very different worlds. One is the ghost of a domestic icon’s media empire. The other is a high-stakes, high-volatility bet on the future of legal weed in America. It’s confusing.
Honestly, the "MSO" ticker has a bit of a split personality. Originally, MSO belonged to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, the company that made Martha Stewart the first self-made female billionaire in the U.S. But if you check your brokerage app today, that ticker is long gone. Instead, investors are usually buzzing about MSOS, which is the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF.
They aren't the same. Not even close.
The original MSO: Why Martha Stewart's stock vanished
Back in 1999, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia went public. It was a massive deal. On the first day of trading, the stock price nearly doubled, soaring from $18 to $38. For a while, Martha was the queen of Wall Street and the kitchen.
But then things got messy.
The legal troubles involving ImClone Systems and Martha's subsequent prison sentence in 2004 took a massive toll on the brand's corporate health. While Martha made a legendary comeback as a personality, the business side—the actual MSO stock—never quite regained that 1999 magic.
The final curtain for the MSO ticker
By 2015, the company was a shadow of its former $2 billion valuation. In December of that year, Sequential Brands Group stepped in and bought Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for roughly $353 million. That was the end.
The company requested to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. If you held shares then, they were converted or paid out. Later, in 2019, the brand was sold again to Marquee Brands. Today, Martha Stewart is still everywhere—from Snoop Dogg collaborations to Skechers commercials—but "MSO" as a stock is a piece of financial history.
What happened to MSOS? The new "MSO" everyone talks about
Now, if you’re looking at charts from 2024 or 2025 and seeing wild price swings, you're definitely looking at the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS).
This is the ticker that people are currently obsessed with. It’s the first actively managed ETF to focus solely on American cannabis companies, specifically Multi-State Operators (which are also called MSOs).
The irony? The "MSO" term now refers to the industry, not the lady who makes the world's best soufflé.
Why the MSOS price is a roller coaster
As of early 2026, the story of MSOS is one of "hurry up and wait." The stock has been a victim of Washington D.C.'s slow-moving gears.
- The 280E Tax Problem: This is the big one. Right now, cannabis companies are taxed under Section 280E, which means they can’t deduct normal business expenses because the federal government still considers weed a Schedule I drug. This kills their profit.
- The Rescheduling Catalyst: Throughout 2025, the market has been holding its breath for the DEA to officially move cannabis to Schedule III. When news leaks that it's "on track," MSOS shoots up. When there's a delay, it tanks.
- A Concentrated Bet: You aren't buying a broad market here. MSOS is heavily weighted toward three giants: Curaleaf (CURLF), Trulieve (TCNNF), and Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF). If one of them trips, the whole ETF falls down the stairs.
Recent performance: Is MSOS actually recovering?
It’s been a brutal few years. From a high of over $50 in early 2021, the ETF spent much of 2024 and 2025 grinding along near the $5 to $8 range.
However, late 2025 saw a massive spike in volume. Why? Because the "rescheduling" talk finally turned into actual administrative movement. By January 2026, MSOS has been "limping" a bit, as some analysts put it, trading around the $4.50 to $5.00 mark after a volatile December.
It's basically a leveraged bet on federal law.
If the U.S. government finally removes the 280E tax burden, these companies suddenly go from "struggling to stay cash-flow positive" to "printing money." Until then, MSOS remains one of the most volatile assets you can put in a portfolio.
Actionable insights for current and future investors
If you're trying to figure out your next move with what happened to mso stock (the cannabis version), you need to look at the "boring" stuff, not just the headlines.
Watch the DEA, not the ticker.
The price of MSOS is currently a proxy for the likelihood of rescheduling. Don't trade the daily candles; trade the regulatory milestones. If the final rule for Schedule III is published in the Federal Register, that is the "go" signal the market is waiting for.
Check the debt of the Big Three.
Since MSOS is basically Curaleaf, Trulieve, and Green Thumb in a trench coat, you have to watch their balance sheets. Curaleaf, for instance, has faced some debt challenges recently. If they have to refinance at high rates, it drags the ETF down regardless of what the government does.
Understand the "Sell the News" risk.
We saw this in late 2024 and throughout 2025. Every time a politician tweets about "cannabis reform," the stock jumps 10% and then immediately gives it back. Retail investors often get trapped buying the top of these hype cycles.
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Diversify outside the MSO sub-sector.
Even if you're a cannabis bull, putting everything into MSOS is risky because it only covers U.S. operators. Some investors are now looking at ancillary companies—the ones that sell the lights, the packaging, or the software—which often have cleaner balance sheets and less exposure to the 280E tax mess.
The reality of what happened to mso stock is that the old Martha Stewart era is dead, and the new cannabis era is still fighting to be born. It's a classic case of high-risk, high-reward. If you’re jumping in now, just make sure you’ve got the stomach for 10% swings in a single afternoon.