Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT) stock rose early Friday before erasing gains and falling by double digits after former President Donald Trump faced off against current Commander-in-Chief Joe Biden in the first presidential debate of 2024.
Shares of Trump’s social media parent company, Truth Social, fell about 12% in late afternoon trading.
Debate experts say Biden’s unstable performance in the debate, which included a raspy voice and moments of confusion, It could help Trump win Biden’s 81-year-old age has become a hot topic among voters who fear whether or not he is capable of continuing to run the country.
“Biden’s stumbling and faltering performance has amplified concerns about his ability to serve and sparked a new round of panic in the Democratic Party,” said Isaac Boltansky, director of policy research at BTIG, in response to Thursday’s debate. “Trump won the debate and should be seen as the clear front-runner this morning, but his behavior and lies seemed to confirm the concerns some voters have about his fitness for office.”
DJT shares have been on a bumpy ride in recent months, swinging between highs and lows.
In May, Trump He was found guilty On all 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 presidential campaign — a verdict that sent the stock down 5% the day after the conviction.
Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, has gone public on the Nasdaq after to merge With special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Shares have fallen about 44% since the company debuted at the end of March.
Trump founded Truth Social after he was kicked off major social media apps like Facebook (META) and Twitter, the platform now known as X, in the wake of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Trump has since been reinstated on those platforms, Although the former posted the president almost exclusively on his Truth Social account throughout the trial.
In April, Updated Regulatory Filing Trump Media reported sales of just over $4 million as its net loss reached nearly $60 million for the full year ended Dec. 31. The company warned that it expects the losses to continue amid greater profitability challenges.
In May, the company mentioned Its first-quarter results revealed losses of $327 million, most of which were related to expenses related to its SPAC deal. The company disclosed as of April 29 that more than 621,000 different shareholders owned shares in Trump Media, noting that the “vast majority” of those were individual investors.
Trump maintains approx 60% share At its current level of around $32 per share, Trump Media boasts a market value of around $4.3 billion, giving the former president a stake worth around $2.6 billion. Immediately after the company went public, Trump’s stake was worth more than $4.5 billion.
In late April, the stock hit a milestone that secured Trump an additional $1.2 billion in cash. However, shareholders are still subject to a six-month lock-up period before they can sell or transfer shares.
Alexandra Canal She is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. You can follow her on X @ali_canal, linkedin, And email it to alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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