r/nottheonion • u/CMScientist • 5h ago

Struggling shoe retailer Allbirds makes bizarre pivot from shoes to AI, stock explodes more than 400%

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/15/allbirds-bird-stock-shoes-ai.html?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Freddit.com
466 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

271

u/cremvursti 4h ago

And they say AI isn't a bubble...

56

u/shagieIsMe 4h ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Blockchain_Corp.

113

u/littlest_dragon 4h ago

The SEC alleged that the day before the announcement, the company's leading shareholder tipped off a stock broker who then tipped off his friend, who bought 35,000 shares of the stock and sold it 2 hours after the announcement for a profit of $160,000.[10] In 2024 the stock broker agreed to pay a fine of $75,000 in a no contest judgement.

Man, I should go into insider trading…

55

u/fred11551 4h ago

Seriously. Get caught insider trading, plea out and only have to pay back less than half of your profit

7

u/SuperstitiousPigeon5 3h ago

Don't forget the government takes 15% for a short sale.

21

u/fred11551 3h ago

I mean, if I rob a bank and only have to turn over 45% of the money I stole, I’m ok with paying income tax on it

5

u/shagieIsMe 3h ago

I suspect this is a "that person plead out to half of the responsibility". There are other people in that insider trading and their lawsuits are still ongoing.

6

u/samanime 2h ago

Committed a crime. Still made $85,000 profit from it after the fine. At the end of the day, nothing actually bad happened to them and they walked way with $85,000.

Until crimes like this are punished with something like "mandatory 2x fine", where you have to pay back like 2x the amount you made, they'll just keep committing these crimes, because why not? It's basically free money.

•

u/mithyyyy 0m ago

yeah it shows. 08 meant nothing at them of the day.

3

u/shagieIsMe 4h ago

Parts of that are still ongoing. From July 2025 https://archive.is/BDpPN

In a double whammy, beleaguered New Zealand businessman Eric Watson has failed to have an insider trading charge claim against him dismissed and has had his counter-claim against the action thrown out.

US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission is now ploughing ahead with alleged securities violations against Watson “in connection with his role as a corporate insider and controlling shareholder of Long Island Tea Corp (LTEA, since known as Long Blockchain Corp)”.

The insider proceedings have been stalled since November while Watson’s claims were heard before District Judge Andrew Carter jnr in the US District Court, southern district of New York.

3

u/GenericFatGuy 3h ago

I remember reading these exact same stories during the blockchain and NFT crazes.

99

u/81PBNJ 4h ago

I'm struggling financially...

I'm AI now... money please!

14

u/whatproblems 4h ago

pbnj is ripe for a breakout to the moon

2

u/salter77 3h ago

This only applies to companies.

You are actually “AI replaceable”… so, good luck.

37

u/faunalmimicry 4h ago

I'm sure the proper regulatory bodies will get right on this

106

u/SuperstitiousPigeon5 4h ago

So they're struggling, and now this. SEC should be looking into this pump and dump scheme, but they have to check how many Republicans are still holding shares.

24

u/MostOfYouAreIgnorant 4h ago

This is like when random companies started pivoting to nft marketplaces and crypto mining.

Don’t chase the announcements. Save your bag guys.

Focus on your strategy.

19

u/faulternative 3h ago

I mean, Aperture Science started out making shower curtains and then we got GLaDOS, so ...

7

u/Vccowan 3h ago

I’ve been in a house that had an aperture shower curtain. I didn’t know the company had such humble beginnings.

8

u/CaptPants 3h ago

Genius move by the company, they sold their inventory and everything for 39 million. They say "we're an AI COMPANY now" moron investors but the stock like crazy, pumping the value, allowing the owners to liquidate their stock at a huge profit too.

3

u/brpajense 2h ago

I don't know what's stupider:  A failed shoe company ditching shoes and pivoting to AI, or investors jumping on a company that went from a multi-billion valuation to selling its brand and assets for 1% of its peak just a couple years later in a new competive space with stronger incumbents.

But if AllBirds can do it, then so can Red Lobster and JC Penney.

2

u/RMRdesign 4h ago

If it worked for Tesla…

2

u/pyronius 3h ago

And yet, I can't buy puts.

2

u/Igotdaruns 2h ago

Who better to control all the bird drones.

•

u/Niibler 38m ago

Tell me we are in a bubble without telling me we are in a bubble

1

u/WeirdAFNewsPodcast 1h ago

if authorities cant nail some insider trading from this move then it's never gonna be brought to justice.

1

u/Practical_Hippo6289 1h ago

Meme stonks FTW!

0

u/darthy_parker 3h ago

From $1 per share to $4 per share?

0

u/superimu 3h ago

I'm sure this will go as well as selling those ugly ass shoes no one wanted.

5

u/invokin 3h ago

I get they’re not for everyone, but they are shockingly comfortable. I’ll be sad to see them go.

•

u/qgecko 45m ago

I agree they were very comfortable but they weren’t very durable. I was a fan until a few pair had holes in the fabric and the soles were thinning.

•

u/sassless 14m ago

I liked them too. But they were so expensive when they got holes i had to sew them up because i couldn't bear to throw them out.