Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump's Social Media Company Soars Nearly 50% in Its First Day of Trading on Nasdaq
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
March 26, 2024

Trump Media, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, now takes Digital World’s place on the Nasdaq stock exchange. (AP/Peter Morgan)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK — Shares of Donald Trump’s social media company jumped nearly 50% in the first day of trading on the Nasdaq, boosting the value of Trump’s large holdings in the company as well as the smaller stakes of fans who purchased shares as a show of support for the former president.

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. was acquired Monday by a blank-check company called Digital World Acquisition Corp. Trump Media, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, has now taken Digital World’s place on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Before trading began, Trump Media had a market value of about $6.8 billion, a figure that will rise significantly if the early gains in the shares hold. The shares are trading under the ticker symbol “DJT.” Trump holds a nearly 60% ownership stake in the company. As of 9:55 a.m. ET, the shares were up 47% to $73.50.

Nunes Has 115,000 Shares of Company

(Former Valley Congressman Devin Nunes, the CEO of Trump Media, is listed as owning 115,000 shares in the company.

Many of Trump Media’s investors are small-timers either trying to support Trump or aiming to cash in on the mania, instead of big institutional and professional investors. Those shareholders helped the stock of Digital World more than double this year in anticipation of the merger going through.

These investors could experience a bumpy ride. For one, they’re betting on a company with vague prospects of turning a profit. Trump Media lost $49 million in the first nine months of last year, when it brought in just $3.4 million in revenue and had to pay $37.7 million in interest expenses. In a recent regulatory filing, the company cited the high rate of failure for new social media platforms, as well as the company’s expectation that it will lose money on its operations “for the foreseeable future” as risks for investors.

Truth Social launched in February 2022, one year after Trump was banned from major social platforms including Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He’s since been reinstated to both but has stuck with Truth Social.

Trump: ‘Truth Social Hot as a Pistol’

On Monday, Trump appeared in court in New York at hearing for a criminal case involving hush money payments made to cover up claims of marital infidelity. Afterward, Trump told reporters that “Truth Social is doing very well. It’s hot as a pistol and doing great.”

However, Trump Media has yet to disclose Truth Social’s user numbers — although that should change now that the company is public. Research firm Similarweb estimates that Truth Social had roughly 5 million active mobile and web users in February. That’s far below TikTok’s more than 2 billion and Facebook’s 3 billion — but still higher than other “alt-tech” rivals like Parler, which has been offline for nearly a year but is planning a comeback, or Gettr, which had less than 2 million visitors in February.

Besides competition in the social media field, Trump Media faces other risks — including to some degree Trump.

Trump Media, which is based in Palm Beach, Florida, said in a regulatory filing that it “is highly dependent on the popularity and presence of President Trump.” If the former president were to limit or discontinue his relationship with the company for any reason, including due to his campaign to regain the presidency, the company “would be significantly disadvantaged.”

Acknowledging Trump’s involvement in numerous legal proceedings, the company noted that “an adverse outcome in one or more” of the cases could negatively affect Trump Media and Truth Social.

Another risk, the company said, was that as a controlling stockholder, Trump would be entitled to vote his shares in his own interest, which may not always be in the interests of all the shareholders generally.

If recent trading activity is any indication, investors should expect the shares to be volatile. Digital World shares more than doubled this year ahead of a shareholder vote on the merger with Trump Media. After the vote Friday, shares dropped almost 14. Monday, they rebounded strongly with a gain of 35%.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

DON'T MISS

Trump Just Bet the Farm

DON'T MISS

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

DON'T MISS

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

DON'T MISS

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

DON'T MISS

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

DON'T MISS

Federal Reserve Chief Says Trump Tariffs Likely to Raise Inflation and Slow US Economic Growth

DON'T MISS

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

DON'T MISS

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

DON'T MISS

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

UP NEXT

Trump Just Bet the Farm

UP NEXT

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

UP NEXT

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

UP NEXT

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

UP NEXT

Federal Reserve Chief Says Trump Tariffs Likely to Raise Inflation and Slow US Economic Growth

UP NEXT

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

UP NEXT

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

UP NEXT

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

UP NEXT

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

UP NEXT

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

43 minutes ago

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

1 hour ago

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

1 hour ago

Federal Reserve Chief Says Trump Tariffs Likely to Raise Inflation and Slow US Economic Growth

1 hour ago

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

2 hours ago

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

2 hours ago

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

2 hours ago

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

2 hours ago

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

2 hours ago

LA Fires Death Toll Rises to 30 After Remains Are Found

2 hours ago

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

When are eleven and nine not what they seem? It happens when computing government math. Although former Bitwise Industries CEOs Jake Sobe...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

If ex-Bitwise CEOs Behave in Prison, How Much Less Time Will They Serve?

33 minutes ago

Trump Just Bet the Farm

39 minutes ago

Staged Crashes and Insurance Fraud: Is Your California Commute a Target?

43 minutes ago

Fight Over Phonics: Will CA Require the ‘Science of Reading’ in K-12 Schools?

1 hour ago

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

The Fresno Police Department will conduct an enforcement operation on April 7, 2025, to target drivers violating the hands-free cell phone law, aiming to reduce distracted driving. (Shutterstock)
1 hour ago

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Federal Reserve in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
1 hour ago

Federal Reserve Chief Says Trump Tariffs Likely to Raise Inflation and Slow US Economic Growth

2 hours ago

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend