The online gunseller with Donald Trump Jr. on its board makes its market debut. Shares plunge

WASHINGTON (AP) — Online firearms seller GrabAGun Digital Holdings, with the stock ticker “PEW,” made its market debut on Wednesday after board member and son of the U.S. president, Donald Trump Jr., rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares of GrabAGun spiked at first but then sank, closing down nearly 24%.

GrabAGun, which also sells ammunition and firearm accessories on its website, went public through a merger with a special acquisition company, or SPAC, named Colombier Acquisition Corp. The Palm Beach, Florida, company said the transaction netted it more than $119 million, which GrabAGun said will be used for working capital and “other purposes to accelerate the company's future growth.”

Special acquisition companies, sometimes called “blank check" companies, can give startups quicker and easier routes to getting their shares trading publicly, while avoiding the traditional scrutiny that comes with a more standard IPO.

Corporate interest in having Trump Jr. as a member of the board accelerated upon his father's victory in the U.S. presidential election.

Trump Jr. had been named to one board seat between 2020 and 2025, and that was his father's Trump Media & Technology Group in 2022.

Since Election Day in November 2024, Trump Jr. has been named to the board of directors at five companies, including GrabAGun.

There are clear benefits that come with the name.

Trump Jr. was named to the board of drone maker Unusual Machines in the same month that his father was elected. Shares in the company tripled in the days after the announcement.

Shares of the so-called “anti-woke” online marketplace PSQ Holdings, doing business as PublicSquare, more than tripled after it named Trump Jr. to its board in early December.

In February, the financial advisory firm Dominari Holdings named Trump Jr. and his brother Eric Trump to an advisory board, sending its shares from around $3 to $13 in a matter of days.

GrabAGun CEO Marc Nemati poses for a picture on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

GrabAGun board member Donald Trump, Jr., second from right, CEO Marc Nemati, fourth from right, and others ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

GrabAGun CEO Marc Nemati, center, board member Donald Trump, Jr., right, and financier Omeed Malik pose for a picture on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV baptized 20 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling, continuing an annual tradition that marks the end of the Christmas holiday period at the Vatican.

Later, speaking to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff offered his blessing to all infants receiving the sacrament of baptism in these days, "in particular those born in difficult conditions of health or external danger.''

In his first baptismal ceremony as pope, Leo celebrated the Lord’s gift of faith to the children, saying that it gives sense to the gift of life.

“When we know something is essential, we immediately seek it for those we love. Who among us, in fact, would leave a newborn without clothing or nourishment, waiting for them to choose when they grow up how to dress and what to eat?'' the pontiff told the families gathered in the Sistine Chapel.

“Dearest ones, if food and clothing are necessary to live, faith is more than necessary, because with God, life finds salvation,’’ he said.

The pontiff personally administered the sacrament of baptism to the infants, who are the children of Vatican employees working at the Holy See. The parents approached the baptismal font placed within a bronze base representing the Tree of Life with the babies’ godparents and any siblings. The ceremony took place without tears and minimal fussing.

The celebration marks the feast day that recalls Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan and was established in 1981 by St. John Paul II. The event is depicted on the Sistine Chapel’s north wall in a fresco by Pietro Perugino.

During the ceremony, each father was given a candle representing the Christian light that “illuminates our path.”

“I wish you to continue with joy during the year that has just begun and for all of your life, certain that the Lord will always accompany your steps.’’

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Faithful listen to Pope Leo XIV's Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The lit Christmas tree is backdropped by the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)