President Donald Trump reportedly bought up to $5 million worth of shares in Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) — the maker of Tasers, body cameras, and policing software — just two weeks before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement floated a major procurement plan that appears closely aligned with the company’s core products, CNBC reported Monday.
The report said Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million worth of Axon stock on Feb. 10, according to federal financial disclosures filed in May. Two weeks later, on Feb. 24, ICE issued a procurement notice seeking about 17,800 new Tasers, along with unlimited cartridges and training, it added.
Notably, Trump’s purchase came weeks after federal agents in Minneapolis fatally shot two U.S. citizens protesting an immigration crackdown in the city.
While the ICE notice did not explicitly name Axon, the company produces nearly 90% of U.S. Tasers, as per investment firm Brown Advisory, it said. According to procurement reviewers and three policing experts, the specifications and capabilities outlined in the notice appear to align exclusively with Axon products, as per the report.
Notably, there is no evidence that Trump was involved in or aware of the procurement process, that contracting officials knew about his Axon stock purchase, or that Axon was aware he was a shareholder. The ICE notice was issued as part of the standard federal procurement process, and no contract has been awarded, according to CNBC.
Axon and the White House did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
Trump’s Stock Trades Raise Eyebrows
This isn’t the first time Trump’s stock investments have made headlines. Last week, Trump expressed regret over selling his International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) stock too soon after praising the company’s CEO for leading advancements in chip fabrication in the U.S. He stated, “I used to have that stock when it was much much lower. I brilliantly sold it when I became president.” He added, “That was not a good move.”
Trump has repeatedly promoted specific companies, with past ethics filings showing he bought shares in at least two firms before publicly endorsing them or enacting favorable policies.
A filing shows the President acquired stakes in Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) and NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) before publicly praising Dell and ahead of a policy decision benefiting Nvidia’s China business.
The White House previously said Trump’s investments are held in an independently managed trust, and he plays no role in trading decisions.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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