Better Home & Finance
🧟 ZombieTrust Size
$750M
Peak Price
$69.98
Current Price
$0.75
Return
-99.5%
Peak Market Cap
$7.7B
What Happened
Mortgage lender infamous for CEO Vishal Gargs mass layoff of 900 employees on a Zoom call. Stock crashed 99.5% as rising interest rates destroyed the mortgage market.
Better.com announced a SPAC merger with Aurora Technology in May 2021 at a $7.7B valuation. But the deal was delayed for 2 years as CEO Vishal Garg became infamous for firing 900 employees on a single Zoom call in December 2021 — calling them "dumb dolphins." Rising interest rates decimated the mortgage industry. By the time the merger finally closed in August 2023, Better had lost 90%+ of its revenue. The stock immediately cratered from $70 (adjusted for reverse splits) to under $1. Garg retains control via super-voting shares despite the destruction.
Projections vs. Reality
Projected Revenue
$1.4B
What they told investors
Actual Revenue
$145M
What actually happened
Hype-to-Reality Ratio: 10.0x
Key People
Vishal Garg
CEO & Founder
Infamous for mass Zoom layoff, retains control via super-voting shares
SoftBank
Major Investor
Led $500M funding, massive writedown
Timeline
2021-05
SPAC merger announced at $7.7B
2021-12
CEO fires 900 on Zoom call
2022-01
Deal delayed, due diligence restart
2023-08
Merger finally closes 2 years late
2024-01
Stock under $1, 1:50 reverse split
🔀 Reverse Stock Split
Reverse split ratio: 1:50. Reverse splits are used to avoid delisting but destroy shareholder value through the illusion of a higher stock price.
⚖️ Legal Actions
• Class action lawsuit filed by shareholders
📄 SEC Filings
View all EDGAR filings for Better Home & Finance
Risk Scores
Dilution Score
85/100
Insider Profit Index
70/100
Hype-to-Reality Ratio
10.0x
Projected ÷ actual revenue