Jig Dropping: Trump’s Truth Social Stock Drops 50%, Seeks To Issue More Shares
Written by djfrosty on April 16, 2024
Source: The Washington Post / Getty
The value of shares in Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, has been cut in half since being available on the public trading market.
According to reports, shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that operates the Truth Social social media network, closed at $32.59 Friday (April 12). Despite a late rally, the price reflects a 50% drop from its original peak closing price of $66.22 when it was first made available for public trading on the NASDAQ stock market on March 27. The drop has shaved billions off of the value of the stock, of which the lion’s share (at 57.6% of all shares) is owned by former president Donald Trump. Trump owns 78.75 shares of TMTG stock. Its value was previously listed as $5.2 billion, closing with a value of $2.6 billion.
The slide comes as observers have cast aspersions about the validity of the TMTG stock. IAC and Expedia chairman, Barry Diller, went on record in an interview with CNBC calling the public trading of the stock “ridiculous,” comparing it to the “meme stock” that has been associated with GameStop and AMC Entertainment since 2021, which was valued at $700 and $500 at the time. “The company has no revenue. It’s a scam, just like everything he’s ever been involved in is some sort of con,” Diller said.
When asked about his opinion of those buying the stock, he replied: “I think they’re dopes.” Representatives for TMTG fired back at Diller. “It is unsurprising to see die-hard Trump haters and leftwing flacks blow a gasket now that Truth Social has become a public company that, still today, refuses to suppress political expression that contradicts the narratives they want to enforce,” they said.
Donald Trump is currently in New York City as the jury selection process has begun for his “hush money” trial in a Manhattan courtroom Monday (April 15), the first-ever criminal trial of a former president. The company filed a motion to issue 21.4 million additional public stock shares earlier in the day. The impact of the news plunged the value of shares down another 15% at the beginning of trading. The additional shares cannot be released until a registration takes effect with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the preliminary prospectus filing.