Chronological feed of everything captured from Muddy Waters.
Muddy Waters' undercover investigation at ICE 2026 revealed Sportradar's sales team promoting services to illegal gambling operators in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and China without warnings, including introductions to China's largest illegal operator Yabo Group. Code analysis and employee interviews identified nearly 50 illegal clients like 1xBet, 8xBet, and Yabo, contributing 20-40% of revenues despite SRAD's claims of rigorous KYC and monitoring. SRAD collects extensive bettor data (500+ points per match, retained 3 years) enabling precise knowledge of illegal activity origins.
Muddy Waters claims e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) inflated revenue by $135-190 million over three quarters, starting in Q2 FY24 amid inventory buildup and weakening growth. ELF attributed a $36.9 million inventory increase to a shift in sourcing practices—taking ownership of goods in China rather than at its U.S. warehouse—but Muddy Waters deems this false based on supplier and ex-employee confirmations of longstanding China-side title transfer. This discrepancy suggests insufficient sales drove the inventory rise, with inflated inventory masking unreceived cash, potentially deceiving auditors.
Muddy Waters Research is short FTAI Aviation Ltd., alleging its financial reporting misclassifies one-time whole engine sales as recurring Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO) revenue in the Aerospace Products segment. True maintenance and module sales revenues are claimed to be materially lower than reported, with ~80% of adjusted EBITDA derived from gains on these asset sales rather than operations. This misrepresentation inflates valuation beyond a pure leasing business, enabling Fortress's May 2024 secondary stock sale.
Muddy Waters alleges FTAI's Aerospace Products business supplied CFM-56 engines and packaging to Sorena Turbine, an Iranian aircraft MRO firm, based on LinkedIn photos and videos posted in January-February 2025 by an Iranian airline executive. Location in Iran confirmed by matching video landmarks to Google Earth imagery. U.S. OFAC counsel indicates strict liability for such exports, even via third parties, potentially exposing FTAI to severe penalties including prison time depending on culpability and frequency.
Muddy Waters claims SOFI improperly accounted for a $312 million loan from JPMorgan as a sale, rather than debt, in Q3 2024. This alleged misrepresentation could have artificially inflated SOFI's reported profits and EBITDA, while understating capital ratios. Muddy Waters suggests the required restatement might be significantly larger than the initial $312 million.
Muddy Waters Research, a 'for-profit' journalistic organization, alleges that SOFI's 2025 Adjusted EBITDA is inflated by approximately 90%. Despite publishing a 28-page report detailing these claims, SOFI has reportedly not addressed any specific factual allegations. Muddy Waters finances its research by taking short positions in the securities of companies it reports on, managing its risk by closing substantial portions of these positions after publication.
Muddy Waters Research claims SOFI is not a genuinely growing origination business but rather uses financial engineering tactics to obscure its true financial health. These tactics allegedly include GE Capital-style loan marks, Enron-esque off-balance-sheet structures, and disguised borrowings as revenue. The company is accused of materially misstating its debt, with an estimated unrecorded amount of at least $312 million, and having a significantly higher personal loan charge-off rate than reported.
Muddy Waters Research alleges that AppLovin (APP) and its leadership, CEO Foroughi and CTO Shikin, have made demonstrably false and misleading statements regarding their use of persistent identifiers. According to Muddy Waters, AppLovin continues to employ these identifiers, violating user privacy and partner platform terms of service, despite public denials from the company's executives. Muddy Waters, a “for profit” journalistic organization, finances its research through short positions in the securities of companies it reports on.