GranAGun, online gun retailer backed by Trump Jr., sinks in NYSE debut

Shares of online weapons retailer GrabAGun sank almost 24% yesterday, July 16, their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Among the company's shareholders is Donald Trump Jr. He has been increasingly invested in what’s been called the “parallel economy," companies that position themselves as an alternative to corporate America, notes Bloomberg. 

GrabAGun crashed in its NYSE debut, writes CNBC. The stock fell 20% shortly after Trump Jr. rang the opening bell. At the close, the losses came to 24%, with one share quoted at $13.12. In after-hours trading, GrabAGun managed to pare back just 3.6%. 

"As the day unfolded, though, it became clear that more GrabAGun investors were looking to unload rather than stock up," Bloomberg pointed out.

GrabAGun, which calls itself a "technology-driven online firearms retailer serving responsible Americans who value freedom, self-reliance, and the right to bear arms," was founded back in 2010. It went public only after merging with Colombier Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC. Colombier's founder is Omeed Malik, whom CNBC calls a "Republican megadonor."

In the prospectus for GrabAGun's IPO, Trump Jr. was said to own 300,000 shares. The president's son is financially involved in the so-called "parallel economy," a growing pool of companies that espouse right-wing values and position themselves as an alternative to corporate America, Bloomberg reported. Trump Jr. characterized GrabAGun’s listing as part of a broader “counterculture” and a defiant movement in markets.

"To be able to come back to the New York Stock Exchange and actually take a gun company public feels like such a vindication of all the insanity, all of the ‘woke’ nonsense that we’ve been watching and facing for the last decade in America," Trump Jr. said on Fox Business ahead of GrabAGun's debut, as quoted by CNBC.

CNBC called GrabAGun the latest example of the president’s family and allies backing companies related to conservative political causes. Other examples include PSQ Holdings, which combines the "patriotic marketplace" PublicSquare, a payments system, and hygiene products brand EveryLife. Trump Jr. is a shareholder, while Malik was a board member until recently. In a press release congratulating GrabAGun on its listing, PSQ noted the gun retailer uses its payments system. 

The AI translation of this story was reviewed by a human editor.