Massive companies applied for taxpayer-backed low-interest loans meant for small businesses. We now know that at least 100 of these big companies that received Paycheck Protection Program loan funds are publicly-traded and they now have to pay those loans back.
Related: BIG Companies Got Loans Meant For Real Small Businesses And It’s A Slap In The Face
The Paycheck Protection Program was supposed to infuse small businesses, which typically have less access to quick cash and credit, with $349 billion in emergency loans that could help keep workers on the job and bills paid on time.
Instead, the taxpayer-backed low-interest loans went to companies with thousands of employees, fines and penalties from the government, risks of financial failure long before the coronavirus shut down ravaged the U.S. economy, companies with no marketable product to sell, and big businesses whose parent company is located in a foreign country.
Here’s A List of the Biggest Publicly Traded Companies That Got PPP Loans Meant For Real Small Businesses:
But First: HERE’S WHY THE PPP LOAN PROGRAM DIDN’T WORK
The Paycheck Protection Program was aimed at giving America’s small businesses and self-employed a lifeline to keep them open during the economic shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
$349 BILLION was allocated towards United States small businesses by the SBA. There are over 53 million combined small businesses (defined by the SBA as smaller than 500 employees) and self-employed persons in the United State which we are going to simply call in the table below “small companies.”
4,400 of the approved PPP loans exceeded $5 million according to the SBA. The size of the typical loan nationally was $206,000. The SBA will forgive the loans if companies meet certain benchmarks, such as keeping employees on payroll for eight weeks.
Of the estimated 45 million applications for PPP the Small Business Administration received, only 4% were approved.
| PPP funds set aside for small businesses April 3 | $349 BILLION |
| Percent of U.S. businesses = sole proprietors | 73% |
| Percent of U.S. businesses = employing 500 or less | 99% |
| Number of small businesses in U.S. | 30.2 million |
| Number of sole proprietorships in U.S. | 23 million |
| TOTAL number of small companies in U.S. | 53.2 million |
| TOTAL estimated number of PPP loan applications | 45 million |
| Number of PPP loans approved | 1.8 million |
| Estimated percent of PPP loans approved | 4% |
| Jobs lost in U.S. since March 23 | 26.5 million |
| U.S. estimated unemployment rate April 23 | 20% |
| U.S. unemployment rate during 2008 financial crisis | 10% |
| U.S. unemployment rate during the Great Depression | 14%+ |
| U.S. unemployment rate in 1933 | 24.9% |
| Number of PPP loans over $5 million | 4,400 |
| Average PPP loan size | $206,000 |
| Size of loan to fund ALL PPP applicants the same Amount each applicant could use towards payroll, rent, healthcare, etc | $7,755 $3,102 per month |
It’s obvious the first round of PPP loan funding was never going to cover demand for the program even though $349 BILLION had been allocated for it.
There was never enough funding for small companies–and big companies applying for taxpayer-backed PPP loans only exacerbated the problem. They knew better.
Real small businesses are now closing their doors, selling their possessions to meet payroll, and getting kicked out by callous landlords who will most likely still owe rent on remaining months in their leases. Commercial leases are not covered in federal, state or most local eviction moratoriums.
Never forget who these big companies are because screwed over small companies and the self-employed by holding much needed funding for small businesses hostage.
Why Is It Important That Small Businesses Get PPP Loans? Jobs.
Small companies are the backbone of America and account for an astounding 64% of all new jobs created in the United States.
The number of people in the U.S. who are self-employed has grown over 9%, while the growth rate of businesses that employ people has only grown by 4.4%.
Self-employed people in the United States still pay taxes, and have to pay for their own healthcare. However, they are often ineligible for federal and state welfare and unemployment programs unless they “go get a real job.”
The rise of entrepreneurship in the U.S. has given rise to more self-employed people who value flexibility over staying at one company for most of their career.
Entrepreneurship is now called the “new” American dream.
| Percent of all U.S. jobs created by small businesses | 49.2% |
| Percent of new jobs created by small businesses | 64% |
| Percent of U.S. small businesses that employ people | 99.7% |
| Growth rate of self-employment in U.S. | 9.1% |
| Growth rate of businesses employing people | 4.4% |
| Jobs lost in U.S. since March 2020 | 26.5 MILLION |
| U.S. estimated real unemployment rate April 23 | 20% |
| U.S. unemplomyent rate during 2008 financial crisis | 10% |
| U.S. unemployment rate during the Great Depression | 14%+ |
| U.S. unemployment rate in 1933 | 24.9% |
Why Allowing Big Companies To Get PPP Loans Is Killing U.S. Small Businesses
The following table is the list so far of publicly traded companies sorted by total stock value (market cap) that applied for and received taxpayer-backed PPP loan funds meant for America’s small businesses and self-employed.
Publicly traded companies typically have access to more cash, can sell shares, and they usually have more funding opportunities to pay payroll, rent, and other costs.
They have a HUGE financial and competitive advantage over small companies, and this is why allowing big companies to get PPP loans has nearly destroyed small businesses overnight.
While publicly traded companies are now required to repay PPP loans they received by May 7, the problem is that because big companies did receive the loans that real small businesses have been forced to close, sell possessions they’ll never get back in order make payroll, have had callous landlords lock them out and throw away their business property because they couldn’t make April rent.
BIGGEST PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES APPROVED FOR PPP LOANS (SO FAR)
We’ll be updating this list as more information becomes available.
NOTE: Big companies not publicly traded are noted next to company/brand name.
The list GROWS daily. We will update this list as we can, and here a COMPLETE LIST that is updated frequently. This mess is about to hit $1 BILLION in taxpayer-backed PPP loans that publicly traded companies received.
| COMPANY | LOAN AMOUNT | MARKET CAP |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers (not publicly traded) | $4.6M | $4.4B |
| AutoNation | $80M | $3B |
| Shake Shack | $10M | $1.7B |
| Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. | $4.7M | $564M |
| DMC Global | $6.7M | $405M |
| Wave Life Sciences | $7.2M | $286M |
| MannKind | $4.9M | $273M |
| Lindblad Expeditions | $6.6M | $264M |
| Chembio Diangnostics, Inc. | $2.9M | $257M |
| Nathan’s Famous | $1.2M | $252M |
| Ruth’s Chris Steak House | $20M | $251M |
| Legacy Housing | $6.5M | $229M |
| Misonix | $5.2M | $198M |
| Digimarc | $5M | $192M |
| Fiesta Restaurant Group (Taco Cabana, Pollo Tropical) | $10.0 | $189M |
| OptiNose | $4.4M | $180M |
| Joint Corp. | $2.7M | $160M |
| Quantum Corp | $10M | $151M |
| New Age Beverages | $6.9M | $137M |
| Aquestive Therapeutics | $4.8M | $122M |
| Escalade | $5.6M | $104M |
| ZAGG | $9.4M | $101M |
| Veritone | $6.5M | $101M |
| Ultralife | $3.5M | $99M |
| Frequency Electronics | $5M | $68M |
| Potbelly | $10M | $85M |
| U.S. Auto Parts | $4.1M | $81M |
| Kura Sushi | $6.0M | $78M |
| J. Alexander’s Holdings | $15.1M | $74M |
| Prema-Fix Environmental | $5.7M | $72M |
| Protech Home Medical | $6.0M | $71M |
| Natural Gas Services | $4.6M | $65M |
| Flotek Industries | $4.8M | $52M |
| CV Sciences | $2.9M | $50M |
| Conformis | $4.7M | $47M |
| Identiv, Inc. | $2.9M | $47M |
| Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. | $10M | $45M |
| PolarityTE | $3.6M | $44M |
| Air T | $8.2M | $37M |
| Crawford United | $3.7M | $36M |
| CPI Aerostructures | $4.8M | $35M |
| Adamis Pharmaceuticals | $3.2 M | $26M |
| Phunware Inc. | $2.8M | $25M |
| ENGlobal | $4.9M | $24M |
| Broadwind Energy | $9.5M | $24M |
| Emmis Communications | $4.8M | $23M |
| Ballantyne | $3.2M | $23M |
| Hallador Energy | $10M | $22M |
| CynergisTek, Inc. | $2.8M | $21M |
| CRH Medical Corp. | $2.9M | $20M |
| Ashford Inc., Ashford Hospitality Trust, Braemar Hotels & Resorts | $126.4M | $17M |
| Continental Materials Corp. | $5.4M | $16M |
| SIFCO Industries | $5M | $13M |
| BIOLASE | $3M | $13M |
| Vaso | $3.6M | $7M |
| TSR, Inc | $6.7M | $6M |
| Oblong Inc. | $2.4M | $5.4M |
| Drive Shack | $5.2M | $5M |
LIST OF LARGEST PPP LOANS PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES GOT
We’ll be updating this list as more information becomes available.
Note: List contains privately held companies, which we’ll be adding more of as information becomes available, and which we’ve prominently disclosed.
The list GROWS daily. We will update this list as we can, and here’s a COMPLETE LIST that is updated frequently. This mess is about to hit $1 BILLION in taxpayer-backed PPP loans that publicly traded companies received.
This is probably just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll be updating this list as more information becomes available.
Metroplex Social had to manually verify and compile this list because neither the Small Business Administration nor the lending industry has disclosed recipients of the Paycheck Protection Program.
Typically, SBA loan recipients are published HERE or HERE.
As of April 28, the list still has not been updated and is shows last loan approved as March 31.
SBA Only Approved 4% Of PPP Loans Before $349 BILLION Ran Out
The SBA says that 74% of the loans were for less than $150,000, demonstrating “the accessibility of this program to even the smallest of small businesses.” Which actually feels like a slap to the face to real small businesses and the self-employed.
However, of the $349 BILLION allocated for real small businesses and the self-employed, simple math tells us that EACH small company would only receive $11,600 if they all applied for the program.
Furthermore, of the estimated 45 million applications for PPP the Small Business Administration received, only 4% were approved.
Democratic House members want the new stimulus package to “equitably prioritize small, minority, veteran, and women-owned businesses.
Equitable distribution would mean that the smallest of the small businesses would receive far less than what amounts to $3,000 per month under the April 3 scenario to pay for payroll, rent, etc for a couple months…and only if big companies didn’t apply for PPP.
There is no way to eat this soup sandwich.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin addressed the issue at Tuesday evening’s White House briefing, saying, “The intent of this money was not for big public companies that had access to capital.”
The Treasury Department is now requiring publicly traded companies to return PPP loans they received by May 7 in order to remain in good standing.
25% Of Publicly Traded Companies That Received Biggest PPP Loans Were Already In Trouble
About 25% of the publicly traded companies on our list, according to SEC regulatory filings, were already financially positioned to fail, had losses for years prior to applying for the loan, had no product or service to sell and won’t for years, renewed executive compensation and bonuses on the very same day they were funded with the PPP loan, had been fined in the past for overstating revenue, had their parent company located in another country or were performing so badly that NASDAQ had threatened to delist them.
“I am troubled by reports of publicly traded companies with access to capital & bank relationships receiving money quickly while many ma & pa shops can’t even get a call back or $1,” Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, tweeted. “The next round of funds must be focused on small businesses, with better oversight & transparency.”
“If we let the applications for the largest entities consume those one and two person operations, we have failed our constituents and paved the way for national economic decline,” the leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a written statement.
Publicly Traded Companies Must Now Repay PPP Loans
Here’s the most troubling facts we’ve uncovered so far in our investigation into the biggest companies that got PPP loans meant for real small businesses.
**The Treasury Department has now said that publicly traded companies must pay back their PPP loans by May 7.**
We’ll be updating this list as more information becomes available.
Note: List contains privately held companies, which we’ll be adding more of as information becomes available, and which we’ve prominently disclosed.
LIST OF TOTALLY WTF MOMENTS WHERE BIG COMPANIES GOT PPP LOANS
| Company | Loan Amount | What Metroplex Social Discovered |
|---|---|---|
| Ashford Inc., Ashford Hospitality Trust, Braemar Hotels & Resorts Dallas-based luxury hotel conglomerate | $126.4 million | *NO PLANS to REPAY PPP Loan to SBA *95% of workforce laid off or furloughed *Won’t be using funds to rehire workers right away; using funds as a very low-interest 1% loan, no payments for initial 6 months *Asking U.S. taxpayers to bail his hotels out for 1.5 years *Owns ~130 hotels *Got $126.4 million by taking advantage of a loophole *Revenue $2.2 BILLION in 2019 *At least $4 billion in debt, stopped making payments *Ashford’s market cap on April 23 was $17 million; April 30 $91 million *Braemar Hotels & Resorts market cap on *April 30 is $114 *Monty Bennett (CEO & Chairman) paid himself millions of dollars in preferred dividends during the economic shut down *Monty was paid $1,755,697 annual bonus in March *Monty is guaranteed another $585,233 by 12/31/2020 *Third-party preferred shareholders were paid during the shut down *Monty makes between $5.6 and $6.6 million per year *Hired lobbyists for the first time ever to make sure his hotels got a piece of PPP *Monty donated $50,000 to re-elect Trump campaign in March 2020 *Monty donated at least $143,000 to Trump Victory political action committee *Bennett has reportedly given more than $1.1 million to Trump and Republican Party since 2016 election, according to Federal Election Commission records |
| WaveLife Sciences | $7.2 million | *Parent company is Singapore-based *Reported net losses of $102 million, $147 million, $194 million over the last 3 fiscal years |
| AutoNation New, used auto retailer with 360 retail locations | $77 million | *Fortune 500 company *$21 BILLION in revenue *Market cap $3 billion *Laid off 7,000 employees |
| Potbelly Restaurant chain | $10 million | *Annual sales $410 million last year *Promoted Steven W. Cirulus to roles of CFO and CSO, salary of $425,000 *Temporarily reducing $425,000 salary by 25% *Awarded him a $100,000 sign-on bonus *Eligible for year-end bonus worth up to 60% base |
| Legacy Bedford, TX based mobile home builder | $6.5 million | *Recently increased borrowing capacity from $45 million to $70 million on a credit line from Capital One *Employs 800 people *Qualified due to a SBA stipulation that lets mobile home manufacturers have 1,250 workers |
| ZAGG Mobile phone screen protectors | $9.4 million | *Employed 628 people *149 worked abroad |
| Lindblad Expeditions Cruises, travel expeditions | $6.6 million | *650 workers *Has not needed to layoff, furlough or reduce salaries *Branding deal with National Geographic *$137 million in cash |
| Quantum Corp. | $10 million | *800 employees *Paid in Dec 2019 a $1 million fine for overstating revenue |
| Marrone Bio Bio-pesticides | $1.7 million | *50 employees *COO accused by SEC of over-inflating financial results to make it appear they doubled revenue during its first year as a publicly company *Fined $1.8 million in 2016 as a result *Took on $40 million in debt and has been trying to dig itself out of a hole for years |
| Cinedigm Corp. Leading independent film distributor | $2.1 million | *Bison Capital, a Hong Kong-based investment firm, has owned majority of shares since 2017 *NASDAQ warned company in 2019 of getting delisted due to poor performance *NASDAQ notified company March 2020 of being delisted due to poor performance *April 2020 finalized a share transfer for significant equity stake in a China-based cinema company, promissory note $10 million *April 2020 finalized deal for exclusive distribution rights for the Bob Ross channel |
| Enservco | $1.9 million | *95 employees *March annual report admits to not generating “adequate revenue to fund our current operations…substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern” *Significant net operating losses in 2018, 2019 |
| LiveXLive (formerly Spotify) | $2.1 million | *Same day they received PPP loan funds, they renewed the CFO’s employment term for 2 years at $325,000 for 2020; $375,000 for 2021 *Also gave CFO a sign-on bonus of $100,000 |
| Fogo de Chao (PRIVATELY-held) | $20 million | *Two subsidiaries applied and received $10 million each by taking advantage of loophole in the CARES Act *About 40 locations *Last known revenue $314.4 million in 2017 *CEO Barry McGowan defended the decision to apply for small business PPP loans by saying, “The scale of our business doesn’t matter.” |
Here’s The ENTIRE List Of Biggest Public Companies That Got Small Business PPP Loans (So Far)
Here’s the entire list of the largest publicly traded companies that got PPP loans meant for real small businesses.
Here’s more on Metroplex Social:
- BIG Companies Got Loans Meant For Real Small Businesses And It’s A Slap In The Face
- Fogo de Chao Got $20 Million In PPP Loans And The CEO Doesn’t Care
- Shake Shack Is Returning Their $10 Million PPP Loan
- Chase, Other Big Banks Getting Sued For Shuffling PPP Loans To Make More Profit
- Live Nation, Ticketmaster Now Refunding Tickets: Here’s What We Know So Far