AppLovin: 2025 short-seller reports, a reported SEC inquiry and the company's denials
AppLovin: 2025 short-seller reports, a reported SEC inquiry and the company's denials: a public-record watch file compiled by Falling Shares Intelligence from filings and exchange disclosures, as of 2026-11-09. Fuzzy Panda Research and Culper Research published critical reports in early 2025; Muddy Waters followed on 27 March 2025 and the shares fell about 20% that day.
From the early-2025 short-seller reports to the October 2025 report of an SEC inquiry and the company's August 2026 statement that the SEC concluded without recommending action: what the record shows and what the company says.
Falling Shares Intelligence, Edited by Wung Thomas, Editor-in-Chief. As of .
Summary
- Fuzzy Panda Research and Culper Research published critical reports in early 2025; Muddy Waters followed on 27 March 2025 and the shares fell about 20% that day.
- AppLovin called the claims false and misleading and retained outside counsel to review the short-seller activity.
- Bloomberg reported on 6 October 2025 that the SEC was examining its data-collection practices; the company said it engages with regulators in the ordinary course.
- In August 2026 the company said, as reported, that the SEC had concluded its inquiry with no recommended action.
Key figures
| Muddy Waters report | 27 Mar 2025 (Shares fell about 20%, a record one-day drop) |
|---|---|
| SEC inquiry reported | 6 Oct 2025 (Per Bloomberg; shares fell about 14% that day) |
| SEC inquiry concluded | Aug 2026 (Per CFO on earnings call, as reported) |
The short-seller reports
Fuzzy Panda and Culper reports
Fuzzy Panda Research and Culper Research published critiques of AppLovin before March 2025, focused on its push into e-commerce advertising. (Early 2025)
Muddy Waters report
Muddy Waters Research alleged that AppLovin's ad tactics systematically violate app store terms of service by impermissibly extracting proprietary identifiers from platforms including Meta, Snap, TikTok, Reddit and Google. The shares fell about 20% that day, the steepest one-day drop on record. (27 Mar 2025)
CapitalWatch report
A short seller, CapitalWatch, alleged that AppLovin had become a safe haven for illicit funds, citing links to a shareholder and to a Southeast Asian money-laundering network, and claimed that some SEC disclosures about China operations were misleading. Investing.com noted that the claims are unverified. AppLovin's chief executive has previously called such allegations false and misleading, and the company has strongly denied the money-laundering claims. (20 Jan 2026)
Reported regulatory inquiries
Bloomberg reports an SEC inquiry
Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the SEC was examining whether AppLovin violated agreements with platform partners in its data collection for targeted advertising. The probe followed a whistleblower complaint and short-seller reports. AppLovin said it does not comment on whether regulatory matters exist, that it regularly engages with regulators in the ordinary course, and that material developments would be disclosed. Shares fell about 14%. (6 Oct 2025)
Company response and reported closure
Chief executive rebuts and counsel is retained
AppLovin's chief executive urged investors to dig deeper into the short sellers' claims and said they rely on a simple narrative. The company retained outside counsel at the law firm Quinn Emanuel for an independent review and investigation into short-report activity targeting the company. (28 Mar 2025)
Company says SEC concluded its inquiry
On its second-quarter 2026 earnings call the chief financial officer said the SEC had recently advised the company that it concluded its inquiry with no recommended action. Tech Times reported that the SEC had described the probe as active and ongoing in February 2026. (Aug 2026)
Standard
This file compiles published reporting, company statements and, where available, regulator and exchange material about AppLovin Corporation. Allegations are attributed to those who made them. An investigation is not a charge, a charge is not a finding, and nothing here is a finding of wrongdoing unless a competent authority has made one. AppLovin denies the short sellers' allegations, and no regulator is reported to have taken action against it; the company has said the SEC concluded its inquiry with no recommended action. Individuals are not named unless an official document names them and they are central; otherwise roles are used. This is news coverage for information only, not investment advice.
Right of reply
AppLovin Corporation, and anyone named in a record cited here, can send corrections or comments to info@fallingshares.com (or directly to the Editor-in-Chief, Wung Thomas, at wungthomas@fallingshares.com). Material responses will be published alongside the relevant entry.