Carl Icahn‘s diversified holding company, Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ: IEP) tanked in morning trading on Friday after the company halved its quarterly distribution to $1, indicating a 12% annualized yield based on IEP’s closing price on Thursday. This distribution will be paid on or about September 27 to depositary unitholders of record at the close of business on August 18, 2023.
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More disappointingly, IEP’s losses widened in the second quarter to $0.72 per depository unit as compared to $0.41 in the same period last year while analysts were expecting earnings of $0.25 per depository unit.
Even the company’s revenues declined to $2.5 billion in the second quarter as compared to $3.5 billion in the same period last year and fell short of consensus estimates of $2.66 billion.
Carl Icahn, Chairman of IEP, said, “I believe the second quarter partially reflected the impact of short-selling on companies we control or invest in, which I attribute to the misleading and self-serving Hindenburg report concerning our company. It also reflected the size of the hedge book relative to our activist strategy.”
The hedge fund founder added that subsequent to Q2, he has “entered into a three-year term loan agreement with my personal lenders which in my opinion has significantly diffused the effects of the misleading Hindenburg report, and focused on our activist strategy and reduced our hedge book.”
Icahn added that the above actions have benefitted IEP as in the month of July, the company’s publicly traded securities, which are included in its indicative net asset value (NAV) saw their values increasing by more than $500 million, net of all hedge positions.
IEP stock has tumbled more than 30% this year after the critical Hindenburg report.
