Shares of C3.AI, a leading artificial intelligence software company, recently dropped after a short-seller alleged “accounting issues” in a letter to the company’s auditor. According to the letter written by Kerrisdale Capital’s Chief Investment Officer Sahm Adrangi, C3.AI is engaging in highly aggressive accounting practices to hide deteriorating operations. The short-seller also mentioned concerns related to the company’s unbilled receivables from one of its customers, Baker Hughes Co. C3.AI’s press office and media representatives, as well as a spokesperson for Deloitte, have yet to respond to requests for comment.
Founded and led by industry veteran Tom Siebel, C3.AI has seen a dramatic upturn in investor interest this year with its stock up 135%. The company primarily works in software-as-a-service and uses accounting practices to make the business appear more profitable than it actually is. Additionally, Kerrisdale Capital flagged concerns around a surge in unbilled receivables from one customer, Baker Hughes Co.
Tom Siebel is a veteran of the tech industry. He is best known for eponymously naming the Oracle Corporation after its 2006 acquisition of Siebel’s customer relations management company. He has lead C3.AI since their founding and the company has gone on to become a leader in artificial intelligence software. Despite the recent drop in stocks due to the ‘accounting issues’ allegation, it has still seen an overall 135% increase throughout the year.
Baker Hughes Co. is an industrial service company devoted to energy and manufacturing. C3.AI has worked with the company in the past and Kerrisdale Capital has raised concerns regarding a contrived jump in unbilled receivables from it. A spokesperson from Baker Hughes Co. has yet to provide any comment on the matter.
Although this recent setback calls into question C3.AI’s accounting practices, it is still too soon to tell what the consequence of these “accounting issues” will be. For now, analysts wait to see how the company and its auditor will next address the short-seller’s claims.
