NEW: We are short Archer Aviation $ACHR - and we're extending a $1 million wager to @jimmyfallon, who has earned millions to promote $ACHR. Jimmy - if you truly believe in Archer, prove it. Our offer, and our full report now available at culperresearch.com
@jimmyfallon 2) We believe $ACHR has systematically lied about Midnight's progress in the LTM, to conceal underlying aircraft stability issues and its sham transition flight. Archer’s claim to near-term commercialization is not only premature, but reckless. Don't just take our word for it...
Apr 4 • 26 tweets • 10 min read
1) We are short Gorilla Technology Inc $GRRR - the most ridiculous fraud we’ve written about: fake products, fabricated deals, fraudulent partners, fictitious offices, and phony financials. We think $GRRR should be halted and delisted. Full report now at culperresearch.com2) $GRRR claims to be a “leading edge AI company." It was incorporated in 2001 in the Cayman's infamous Ugland House - what Obama called “the biggest tax scam in the world.” Its global HQ is a temporary office above a London hair salon.
Feb 26 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
1) We are short AppLovin $APP, an AdTech platform for mobile games. Having peaked at $173 billion in market cap, we believe AppLovin could go down as the single largest stock promotion unraveling since at least the GFC. Our full report is now available on our website, culperresearch.com2) $APP shares are up ~25x in the past 2 years on $APP's promotion of supposed breakthrough AI tech, "AXON 2.0." $APP describes AXON 2.0 as a "black box" and investors seem content with this. We believe it's a smokescreen, and $APP's true secret sauce is far more nefarious.
Feb 4 • 22 tweets • 7 min read
NEW: We are short Applied Optoelectronics $AAOI, a manufacturer of optical transceivers and components for data centers and cable television. Our full report is now available on our website. culperresearch.com2) We think $AAOI misrepresents the status of supposedly ongoing 800G qualifications, overstates its production abilities, and has already squandered chances with multiple potential customers. $AAOI's calls to $500M+ in 800G revenues and current "ramping" are total fantasy.
Dec 5, 2024 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
1) We are short LendingTree $TREE, a highly levered internet lead gen company that we believe has failed to properly disclose two existential risks to its business. Our full report is now available on our website. culperresearch.com2) First, LendingTree $TREE is sitting on a time bomb of class action litigation carrying a minimum of $157 million up to $472 million in damages - 82% of TREE's equity value. $TREE unsuccessfully fought this suit for the past 5 years while never disclosing it to investors.
Nov 13, 2024 • 18 tweets • 8 min read
1) We are short Zeta Global Holdings Corp $ZETA. Our full report is now available on our website, culperresearch.com2) We are short $ZETA for two distinct but related reasons, each of which undermine the integrity of $ZETA's data and reported financials. First, revenue round tripping, and second, $ZETA's predatory "consent farms" that we believe generate most of Zeta's growth and Adj. EBITDA.
Sep 19, 2024 • 32 tweets • 13 min read
1) We are short $KSPI, the operator of the largest payment network and second largest bank in Kazakhstan. Our full report is now available on our website. Kaspi.kz culperresearch.com2) Kaspi IPO'd in the US in January 2024, telling investors and regulators that it has "no exposure to Russia or Russian businesses." However, we believe Russia has in fact been a material contributor to $KSPI's performance since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Jul 11, 2024 • 14 tweets • 6 min read
NEW: We are short Iris Energy $IREN. Our full report is now available on our website, culperresearch.com2) $IREN was founded in 2018 but now in 2024 promotes itself as an HPC data center play, claiming that "from Day 1, we've built out our facilities" as "multi-decade high-performance data centers." This is a contrived, nonsense pivot reminiscent of COVID-19 era biotech scams.
Jun 11, 2024 • 19 tweets • 6 min read
1) We are short Axsome Therapeutics $AXSM. Our full report is now available on our website. culperresearch.com2) We believe $AXSM's launch of its flagship depression drug, Auvelity, has been aided by undisclosed consignment deals with dodgy mail-order pharmacies that subvert prior authorizations ("PA"), inflating script counts and reported revenues.
Mar 21, 2024 • 18 tweets • 7 min read
1) We are short The Bancorp, Inc. $TBBK. $TBBK holds $2B in multifamily bridge loans ("REBLs") and claims the book holds "no substantial risk of losses." We think otherwise. Our full report is now available on our website, culperresearch.com2) $TBBK has been a sleepy business for a decade plus. But in Q3 2021, $TBBK began originating floating rate REBLs for its own balance sheet. Exposure is now $2.0B, 2.5x $TBBK's equity. Bulls love the decision as $TBBK's multiple has also inflated to 2.5x book value.
Feb 15, 2024 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
1) We are short ACADIA Pharmaceuticals $ACAD. Our full report is now available at culperresearch.com2) TLDR: Daybue is a total flop. $ACAD misrepresents safety and retention. We think new scripts peaked Aug 2023, revenues will be a fraction of sell-side's $800M+, and knock-on effects are disastrous as $ACAD burns gobs of cash. 3 key insiders have all left in the past 3 months.
Jan 26, 2024 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1) On Monday, Rumble $RUM announced a "partnership" with Barstool Sports, yet still has not issued a Form 8-K, even now, 4+ business days later. This seems to us like an obvious disclosure issue, especially concerning in light of $RUM's reported ongoing SEC investigation.
2) $RUM's PR appears to claim that a) Barstool will provide content, b) $RUM will give up advertising revenues, and c) Barstool will "get access" to Rumble Cloud (note the passive voice). However, $RUM tellingly omits any financial details - we think they're likely horrendous.
Jan 17, 2024 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
1) We are short Jin Medical International Ltd $ZJYL, a China Hustle-style charade. Jin sells wheelchairs and parts in China. In 2022, its revenues fell 8% to just $19M. $ZJYL trades at ~45x revenues. At reasonable "peer" levels of 1-6x sales, $ZJYL shares fall 90% or more.
2) $ZJYL went public in March 2023, underwritten by China-focused chop shop, Prime Number Capital. Prime Number is headquartered in a Long Beach home and has already been sued by investors at least twice for alleged roles in other China frauds. Their track record is horrific.
Oct 19, 2023 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
1) We are short XPEL, Inc. $XPEL. Our full report is now available on our website, culperresearch.com2) We're short $XPEL for two reasons. First, we believe $XPEL has understated its reliance on Tesla by 5-6x. Second, $XPEL faces an undisclosed, existential threat in its long-time supplier entrotech, which is rendering XPEL useless by going direct to OEMs with paint giant PPG.
Oct 10, 2023 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
1) GigaCloud’s $GCT response to our report totally misses the mark.
2) $GCT first claims that its warehouses and trucks are operated not by its own employees, but third parties. This is a lame deflection from our on-ground observations: whether the trucks are owned by GigaCloud or by third parties is not our primary concern: our concern is that we saw so few trucks and such little warehouse activity in the first place. As our initial report stated: “GigaCloud might claim that it outsources its last-mile deliveries using third-party companies as well. However, in this case, we still would have expected to see hundreds of delivery trucks coming and going from the Company’s facilities.” The sparse and haphazard activity we saw at GCT’s warehouses simply fails to square with its claims of a best-in-class e-commerce logistics operation.
Sep 28, 2023 • 14 tweets • 4 min read
1) We are short GigaCloud Technology Inc $GCT. Our full report is now available at our website, culperresearch.com2) $GCT provides solutions for e-commerce furniture sellers, including sourcing, warehousing, and last-mile delivery. In a cutthroat industry, $GCT claims to have grown to over $607M in GMV and $155M in LTM services revenues. As they say, if it's too good to be true...
Aug 8, 2023 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
1) UPDATE: SoundHound AI $SOUN reports Q2 2023 results after the close today. We believe the Company's recent disclosures imply a horrific print, with cash burn worsening materially to $34.8M in Q2, up on both a QoQ and YoY basis. We remain short. 2) Consider $SOUN's July prospectus disclosed that share count increased from 177.2M on May 9 to 194.1M on June 30 (+16.8M shs). $SOUN also disclosed that from April 1 to June 15, the Company sold 14.0M shs raising $41.9M. This leaves another 2.9M shares between June 16 and June 30.
Jul 27, 2023 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
We are short SoundHound AI, Inc. $SOUN. Our full report is now available on our website, culperresearch.com2) $SOUN is a flailing AI wannabe trading at 22x revenues that has misled investors regarding both its claims to possess revolutionary AI technology and a massive backlog of $336M in contracts averaging 6.5 years in length. We think both $SOUN's tech and its backlog are bogus.
May 16, 2023 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
1) Last night, Rumble $RUM reported Q1 2023 results which reaffirm our thesis. We've posted an update on our website culperresearch.com2) We previously opined that $RUM was massively overstating MAUs: $RUM claimed 80M, we estimated 38M to 48M. Almost magically, after being called out, $RUM now says users fell a massive 40% QoQ from 80M to just 48M.
Apr 27, 2023 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
1) We are short Rumble Inc. ($RUM). Our full report is now available on our website. culperresearch.com2) With little revenue generation ability, $RUM's promotion is premised on its claim to have grown to 80M MAUs. But based on numerous sources of independent website traffic and app data, we think this 80M number is a mirage, and $RUM overstates its user base by 66% to 108%.
Jan 24, 2023 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
We are short Xometry, Inc. ($XMTR). Our full report is now available on our website culperresearch.com2) $XMTR is a 2021 IPO which claims to generate recurring revenues, 6.1x LTV to CAC ratios, and operating leverage on a $2T TAM. We think these claims are all bogus; XMTR is an unviable business which has unraveled while management has sold millions in stock.