The Wall Street Journal

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Podcast consensus

Points of consensus

▶Multiple sources cite a Wall Street Journal report stating that OpenAI missed its internal financial, sales, and user growth targets for 2025 and 2026.Apr–May 2026

▶The Wall Street Journal's reporting on OpenAI's missed targets is credited with causing a significant tech stock sell-off, erasing nearly $400 billion in market value from associated public companies like NVIDIA, Oracle, and SoftBank.Apr–May 2026

▶Sources agree that The Wall Street Journal published a high-profile, controversial article in May 2023 titled "Before his killing, tech executive Bob Lee led an underground life of sex and drugs."Apr–May 2026

▶Several reports reference The Wall Street Journal's scoop that OpenAI's CFO, Sarah Friar, internally expressed concerns about the company's ability to afford future computing costs without sufficient sales growth.Apr–May 2026

Points of debate

▶The Wall Street Journal's reporting on OpenAI's missed targets was publicly contested by OpenAI, which stated its consumer and enterprise businesses were "firing on all cylinders," creating a direct conflict between the publication's claims and the company's official stance.Apr–May 2026

▶The publication's report on Bob Lee's personal life, detailing recreational drug use and casual sex, sparked public debate and resulted in the Journal issuing a statement that it "stands by its reporting," indicating the controversial nature of the story.Apr 2026

▶The market's dramatic negative reaction to the WSJ's OpenAI report suggests a debate between the publication's bearish findings and the previously prevailing bullish sentiment surrounding AI-related stocks.

Key themes

▶Market-Moving Technology ScoopsApr–May 2026

The Wall Street Journal's reporting on the internal performance of private tech companies, particularly OpenAI, has demonstrated a significant ability to influence public markets. Claims detail how a single report on missed revenue and user targets at OpenAI triggered a tech sell-off that erased nearly $400 billion in value from associated public companies.

This highlights the publication's immense influence, showing that its investigative reporting on a key private entity can serve as a primary catalyst for major capital reallocation in the public tech sector.

▶Investigative Reporting on Tech FiguresApr 2026

The Journal engages in deep, and often controversial, investigative reporting on the personal lives of prominent technology executives. Its May 2023 article on Bob Lee, titled "Before his killing, tech executive Bob Lee led an underground life of sex and drugs," exemplifies this focus on uncovering private details that reframe public narratives.

This type of reporting solidifies the WSJ's brand as a publication willing to pursue sensitive stories that competitors might avoid, though it also exposes it to criticism and forces it to publicly defend its journalistic methods.

▶Source of M&A IntelligenceMay 2026

The publication is cited as a primary source for breaking news on potential corporate mergers and acquisitions. For example, the WSJ was the first to report that GameStop was preparing a bid for eBay and had been accumulating stock in the company.

For investors, the WSJ acts as a crucial, albeit sometimes speculative, source of intelligence that can signal future corporate actions and create short-term trading opportunities based on its M&A scoops.

▶Catalyst for Corporate ResponseApr 2026

The Journal's reporting frequently elicits direct and public responses from the companies it covers. After the WSJ reported on OpenAI's missed targets, the company issued a public statement refuting the claims, while a WSJ spokesperson officially stated the publication stood by its reporting on Bob Lee.

The WSJ's reporting acts as a forcing function, compelling powerful entities to address uncomfortable narratives in the public square, thereby shaping the ongoing discourse around them.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Apr 2026

1 bullish, 14 bearish, 1 neutral(16 claims)

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Bob Lee participated in an und...

May 2026

2 bullish, 2 bearish(4 claims)

A Wall Street Journal report alleged that OpenAI may be falling short of revenue...

Changes over time

May 2023

The Wall Street Journal publishes a controversial article titled "Before his killing, tech executive Bob Lee led an underground life of sex and drugs," delving into his personal life.

Post-May 2023

In response to the controversy around its Bob Lee story, a spokesperson for The Wall Street Journal states that the publication "stands by its reporting."

Circa April 2026

The Journal reports that OpenAI missed its internal financial, sales, and user growth targets for 2025 and early 2026, and that its CFO had raised concerns about future computing costs.

Immediately following OpenAI report

The WSJ's report on OpenAI triggers a major tech sell-off, with associated public companies losing nearly $400 billion in market value. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices both decline.

Shortly after the OpenAI report

OpenAI publicly refutes the Journal's report, stating its businesses are "firing on all cylinders," creating a public dispute over the company's performance.

Undated

The Wall Street Journal reports, based on sources, that GameStop is preparing a bid for eBay and has been building a position in its stock.

Suggested prompts

How does the market reaction to the WSJ's OpenAI report demonstrate the publication's influence over private company valuations and the broader tech ecosystem? &nearr;What are the ethical considerations and journalistic standards involved in the WSJ's reporting on the personal life of a public figure like Bob Lee after his death? &nearr;To what extent does the WSJ's reliance on anonymous sources for M&A scoops, like the GameStop/eBay story, impact its credibility and the market's trust in its reporting? &nearr;How does OpenAI's public refutation of the WSJ's reporting affect the long-term narrative around the company's growth trajectory and the Journal's reputation for accuracy in tech coverage? &nearr;

Key concepts

OpenAI Financial Performance & Targets 9 ep Market Impact & Sell-offs 3 ep Bob Lee Investigation 1 ep ChatGPT User Growth 3 ep Corporate M&A Reporting 1 ep Sarah Friar (OpenAI CFO) 3 ep Journalistic Defense & Credibility 2 ep GameStop & eBay 1 ep

Notable quotes

“If you add up the amount of market value that was erased because of this one report from the Wall Street Journal, it came out to nearly $400 billion, which is roughly half of the entire value of OpenAI.”

Ed · OpenAI's Week From Hell — And Why Anthropic Is Winning

“In May of 2023, about five and a half weeks after Bob was killed, the Wall Street Journal published an article with this headline. Before his killing, tech executive Bob Lee led an underground life of sex and drugs.”

Sean Nguyen · Bob Lee Part 3: The Brilliant Programmer and a Lot of Wild Living | Foundering

“[0:09:03 -> 0:09:14] Berbergen at the Wall Street Journal over the past week had this really interesting story where he said that OpenAI had failed to meet some of their internal user number targets and some of their revenue targets”

Casey Noon · How OpenAI Is Rewriting Its Future

“The Wall Street Journal reporting late yesterday that OpenAI had fallen short of several internal targets as rivals gained ground.”

Tim Stenevek · OpenAI-Linked Stocks Slip; Investors Focus on AI Ahead of Big Tech Earnings | Bloomberg Businessweek

Report last updated: May 5, 2026

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