September 11, 2024 – Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Donald Trump’s Truth Social, experienced a significant decline in its stock market value following the former president’s high-profile presidential debate with Kamala Harris.
Shares in TMTG plummeted by as much as 17% on Wednesday morning, with the stock eventually closing down 10.5%. This drop marks a continuation of a troubling trend for the company, which has seen its market value fall by more than 75% from its peak earlier this year.
Currently valued at approximately $3 billion, TMTG’s stock has suffered a sharp decline from its peak valuation of nearly $10 billion in March. The company, which operates Truth Social—a platform Trump launched after his bans from Twitter (now X) and Facebook following the January 6 Capitol riot—has faced financial challenges. Last year, TMTG reported losses of nearly $58.2 million against revenues of only $4.1 million.
Trump holds a majority stake in TMTG and has been restricted from selling his shares until now. According to recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Trump owns close to 115 million shares. He will be eligible to sell these shares starting September 19, potentially influencing the company’s stock performance further.
TMTG’s Truth Social platform, headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, has struggled to gain traction compared to its competitors. Similarweb reported 7.7 million visits to the platform in March, while X (formerly Twitter) received 6.1 billion visits. Despite this, TMTG’s stock was valued at nearly $10 billion in the same month, reflecting the volatility and speculative nature of its market position.
Market analysts have referred to TMTG shares as a “meme stock,” a term used to describe stocks that experience extreme volatility due to online hype rather than traditional financial analysis. The stock’s fluctuations have been driven largely by individual investors, whose trading patterns differ significantly from those of institutional investors and day traders.
