Major Reports from Muddy Waters Research

Major Reports from Muddy Waters Research | Generated by AI

Home 2025.12

Question: What are the major reports from Muddy Waters Research?

Answer:

Muddy Waters Research, founded by Carson Block, is an activist short-selling firm known for publishing detailed due diligence reports alleging fraud, accounting issues, or misleading practices in publicly traded companies, often leading to significant stock price declines.

Most Famous Report

Sino-Forest Corp (2011): This is widely regarded as Muddy Waters’ breakthrough and most impactful report. They accused the Chinese forestry company of being a “multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme” by inflating assets and earnings through fraudulent timber holdings. The stock plummeted over 80%, leading to the company’s bankruptcy, regulatory investigations, and major losses for investors like John Paulson.

Other Notable Historical Reports

Luckin Coffee (2020): Alleged fabrication of sales, contributing to the company’s scandal and delisting.
NQ Mobile (2013): Claimed fictitious customers and revenues.
NMC Health (2019): Uncovered inflated cash balances and financial irregularities.

Recent Major Reports (2025)

AppLovin (APP US, March 2025): Accused the company of violating platform terms of service by collecting user IDs, low incrementality in e-commerce conversions (only 25-35%), high churn, and privacy violations. A follow-up report addressed CEO responses as false.
FTAI Aviation Ltd. (FTAI US, January 2025): Alleged misleading financial reporting by classifying one-time engine sales as recurring maintenance revenue, potential sanctions violations (sale to Iranian entity), and inflated margins.
e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (ELF US, early 2025): Claimed revenue and profit inflation, possibly through insufficient sales leading to inventory buildup.

These reports typically combine on-the-ground investigation, data analysis, and forensic accounting. The firm focuses on opacity in companies, historically many Chinese-listed, but increasingly global.

References:

Back Donate