Icahn Enterprises Shares Slump After Slashing Its Dividend Following Short-Seller Attack

Icahn Enterprises (IEP) shares tumbled over 24% in intraday trading on Friday after the company cut its dividend in half in the wake of a scathing report targeting the firm by short-seller Hindenburg Research.

The investment firm owned by Carl Icahn said it would hand out $1 per depositary unit to its investors for the second quarter, which is half of its usual payout of $2 per unit. The company has been under pressure since a short-seller report by Hindenburg Research accused the company of running a “Ponzi-like” structure to pay dividends. That was followed by a federal investigation.

Hindenburg’s report claimed that the investment firm’s valuation was inflated 75%, trading at 218% to its net asset value (NAV). It stated that, in contrast, similar funds owned by activist investors Dan Loeb and Bill Ackman traded at discounts of -14% and -35%, respectively.

Since the report’s release, shares of Icahn Enterprises have shed half of their value, but Hindenburg is still bearish on the firm, writing on the X platform, “On May 2nd, we predicted that Icahn Enterprises will eventually cut or eliminate its dividend entirely, barring a miracle turnaround in investment performance… We remain short.”

Carl Icahn said in a letter published Friday that his company would refocus its strategy on activist investing after some short bets on stocks went sour.