Following the merger and public offering on the Nasdaq exchange last week, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) exceeded expectations by increasing in value by nearly 25 percent. TMTG, the parent company of Truth Social, began trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol DJT on March 26 after merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC). Shares of DWAC closed at $49.95 on Monday and by Thursday, TMTG was trading at $61.96, marking a rise of over 24 percent. The stock market was closed on Friday due to Easter, as reported by The Epoch Times.
Former President Trump holds 78.75 million shares in TMTG, valued at $61.96 each, making his stake in TMTG worth around $4.87 billion. The company’s total market capitalization is approximately $8.39 billion. President Trump’s net worth was estimated to be $7.48 billion as of March 30, ranking him 350th among the world’s 500 richest individuals. Despite analysts’ negative predictions, TMTG’s stock performance has been better than expected. Critics have pointed out that TMTG has not yet been profitable, reporting only $3.3 million in revenue between January and September 2023, with losses totaling $49 million during the same period.
The fate of TMTG is closely tied to that of President Trump, as indicated by DWAC in a November filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stating that if President Trump were to reduce his involvement in Truth Social, TMTG’s business would suffer.
“TMTG’s success depends in part on the popularity of its brand and the reputation and popularity of its Chairman, President Donald J. Trump. The value of TMTG’s brand may diminish if the popularity of President Trump were to suffer,” it said.
“Adverse reactions to publicity relating to President Trump, or the loss of his services, could adversely affect TMTG’s revenues, results of operations, and its ability to maintain or generate a consumer base,” the filing added.
Truth Social witnessed a significant surge in its user base at the beginning of last month, as a multitude of users flocked to the platform to witness Trump’s real-time response to President Joe Biden’s contentious State of the Union Address. According to Just the News, the platform faced intermittent delays as it struggled to handle the overwhelming influx of users.
“Trump uses his platform exclusively for his social commentary, making Truth Social the only social media site that hosts content from both Trump and Biden. Biden’s campaign recently opened up an account on Truth,” the outlet noted. “Trump essentially live-blogged his responses to Biden’s speech on the platform, starting with an opening salvo on Biden starting his speech late.”
