The CEO of software company Palantir said on Wall Street that “nothing makes a human being happier than removing the source of cocaine” from people who “love to tear down great American companies.” He blamed short sellers.
“I love burning short sellers.” Alex Karp told CNBC on Wednesday.
“Few things make a human being happier than taking a line of cocaine off the short sellers who are trying to short a truly great American company. I love helping people pay for their coke.”
Karp’s comments came after Palantir won a $178 million contract from the U.S. military to equip Tactical Information Targeting Access Node (TITAN) ground stations with data fusion and AI-powered deep sensing capabilities. This was just a few weeks after the company’s stock price soared on the news that it had.
Palantir, co-founded by Karp and billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, has seen its stock price rise more than 50% since the beginning of the year.
The company’s stock was trading at $25 per share by Thursday’s opening bell.
Everyone who has shorted Palantir stock in the past year has taken a bath. The company’s stock price tripled in 2023, outpacing the Nasdaq’s 53.8% rise.
Short sellers are investors who stand to profit if a stock’s value declines. An investor borrows shares of an asset and sells the borrowed shares to a buyer at the market price.
Investors sell it with the intention of buying it back later for a lower amount. However, if the stock price rises, short sellers incur losses.
“The best thing that can happen to them is that we direct their coke dealer to their house after they can’t pay their bills,” Karp said.
“You know, do your thing, we’ll do our thing.”
Karp echoed a long-standing sentiment expressed by another tech mogul, Tesla boss Elon Musk, who once suggested short selling should be banned.
Jim Queinos, the short seller who became famous for correctly predicting the collapse of the defunct energy giant Enron, has recently expressed skepticism about Palantir stock. According to Benzinga.
Palantir said last month that it expects 2024 to be its “first profitable year” due to strong demand for its AI products.
Ryan Taylor, the company’s chief revenue officer, told Reuters the company closed 103 deals worth more than $1 million each in the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31.
U.S. commercial revenue increased 70% to $131 million, compared to a 12% increase in the prior year period.
Total commercial revenue was $284 million, exceeding Wall Street expectations.
Palantir expects U.S. commercial revenues to increase at least 40% in 2024 compared to 36% growth in 2023.
The company expected adjusted 2024 profits of $834 million to $850 million, higher than expected, but revenue estimates were in line with expectations.
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