Shares for the media venture headed by former President Donald Trump jumped as much as 20 percent on the second day of trading on the Nasdaq, again lifting the former president’s fortune Wednesday and providing him a potential windfall as he grapples with the costs of several legal cases.
At one point this week, Trump Media & Technology Group, which trades under the DJT ticker, crossed $10 billion on an undiluted basis, a massive valuation for a company that reported an operating loss of $10.6 million for the first nine months of 2023 on revenue of just $3.4 million, according to Reuters. President Trump’s majority stake in TMTG was last valued at about $5.6 billion, according to Forbes, although lock-up restrictions for six months could prevent him from selling or borrowing against his shareholding.
As of Wednesday afternoon, DJT stood at about $67 per share, rising about 17 percent over the previous day. At one point, retail trader-focused social media and trading platform Stocktwits listed it as the most trending stock.
It came after it surged as much as 59 percent on Tuesday in its Nasdaq debut, likely lifted by the former U.S. president’s supporters while causing speculation it would become a “meme” stock akin to Gamestop or AMC. The stock was halted due to volatility shortly after 9 a.m. ET due to the spike before it resumed.
After Tuesday’s trading, the former president’s net worth surged to $6.4 billion, according to the magazine, with the majority coming from his stake in Trump Media.
Trump was worth about $6.4 billion at the end of Tuesday trading, according to our estimates, with a majority of his wealth coming from his stake in Trump Media. That’s a far cry from his social media business’ Tuesday paper value but reflects the price paid in February by institutional investors before its public debut.
The company’s stock market debut follows its merger with blank-check company Digital World Acquisition Corp, which was announced in 2021 but suffered setbacks and delays. The former president helped create Truth Social, which is overseen by Trump Media & Technology Group, in 2022 after his Twitter account was suspended in early 2021 following the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.
Digital World and the newly listed TMTG have together surged almost 600 percent since the deal was announced, cementing TMTG’s status as one of Wall Street’s so-called meme stocks popular among retail traders and whose movement can be driven by posts on social media.
“The valuation of the business is rich relative to its underlying fundamentals, but I would not get in front of it in the near term,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital, Reuters reported. “This valuation may be more of a proxy on the enthusiasm of supporters for Trump than a reasonable estimate of underlying business prospects.”
But Accelerate CEO Julian Klymochko told Benzinga that people investing in Trump Media are betting on President Trump and aren’t concerned about the firm’s valuation or losses.
“The stock provides exposure to Donald Trump. I don’t think anyone holding the shares is keen on investing in Truth Social. Those two concepts are independent,” he said.
Digital World said in a filing last month that Trump may divest his stake in Truth Social and cease any involvement in its management based on how his bid for president goes. The blank-check firm signed its merger agreement with Trump’s company in October 2021.
Financial Issues
Although the former president’s net worth increased, he faces a number of criminal charges, legal fees, and a massive $455 million judgment that was handed down by a New York judge last month.
President Trump asked a New York appeals court to allow him to post a smaller bond to appeal the case, which the court accepted. He now has to post the $175 million bond in order to appeal, according to the court’s ruling earlier this week.
In response, the former president said he would be “honored” to post bond and appeal his case before the new 10-day deadline granted by the court.
His attorneys had argued that he would face irreparable harm if he had to sell his properties at a lower value, which could not be undone if he wins the appeal.
Reuters contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
