Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT) stock jumped early Friday before erasing its gains and falling double-digits after former President Donald Trump faced off against current Commander-in-Chief Joe Biden in the first 2024 presidential debate.
Shares of the parent company of Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, fell about 12% in late afternoon trading.
Debate experts say Biden’s difficult performance in the debate, which included a hoarse voice and moments of confusion, could help Trump win November will come. Biden’s age 81 has been a hot topic among voters worried about whether or not he can continue to lead the country.
“Biden’s bumbling and stumbling performance has amplified concerns about his fitness to serve and sparked a new round of panic within the Democratic Party,” said Isaac Boltansky, BTIG’s director of policy research, in response to Thursday’s debate. “Trump won the debate and should be considered the frontrunner this morning, but his behavior and lies appear to underscore concerns among some voters about his fitness for office.”
DJT shares have had a turbulent time in recent months, swinging between highs and lows.
In May, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records intended to influence the 2016 presidential campaign – a verdict that sent shares down 5% the day after the conviction.
Trump Media, Truth Social’s parent company, went public on Nasdaq after merger with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Shares fell about 44% since the company’s public debut in late March.
Trump founded Truth Social after being kicked off major social media apps like Facebook (META) and Twitter, the platform now known as X, following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots. Trump has since been reinstated on those platforms, though the former president posted almost exclusively to his Truth Social account throughout the trial.
In April, a updated regulatory file showed that Trump Media reported sales of just over $4 million as net losses reached nearly $60 million for the full fiscal year ending Dec. 31. The company warned that it expects losses to continue amid greater profitability challenges.
In May, the company reported First-quarter results showed a loss of $327 million, mostly related to expenses related to its SPAC deal. The company disclosed that as of April 29, more than 621,000 different shareholders held shares in Trump Media, noting that the “vast majority” of them were retail investors.
Trump maintains a policy roughly 60% of shares in DJT. At a current level of around $32 per share, Trump Media boasts a market capitalization of around $4.3 billion, giving the former president a stake worth around $2.6 billion. of dollars. Just after the company’s IPO, Trump’s stake was worth just over $4.5 billion.
At the end of April, the stock reach an important milestone which secured Trump an additional $1.2 billion in cash. Shareholders, however, are still subject to a six-month holding period before selling or transferring their shares.
Alexandra Canal is a senior journalist at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and send her an email at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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