Palantir CEO Alex Karp is warning investors not to count on a big IPO payday from a company he sees as too loaded with liability to survive on its own — a cautionary note for anyone betting on the next hot listing.

• Karp doubts the company in question will ever file to go public.
• The liabilities are so large that its only real way out is to ask the government to nationalize it.
• Business leaders rarely say this outright; they lead you toward the conclusion instead.
• Investors who assume the company is the easy profit are the ones being played.

Outlook: Expect more skepticism about whether the most hyped private companies can actually reach public markets on terms that pay off for outside investors.