Trump Media, the social media company majority-owned by disgraced former President Donald Trump, saw its stock price fall below $20 per share for the first time since the firm started publicly trading.
Trump’s stake of the nosediving DJT stock is still worth more than $2.2 billion — more than half of his on-paper net worth, according to various sources but the company’s fundamental value is not apparent.
The business lost millions of dollars in operating costs and the company has relied on Trump’s enduring popularity, which also appears to be waning.
Trump, whose Truth Social account is the most popular, has recently started posting more on X and TikTok.
The company reported a net loss of more than $16 million for the most recent financial quarter with revenue of only $836,900 for the quarter ending June 30, a 30% drop from the same period in 2023.
Trump Media owns the Truth Social app, which is often used by the reputed con artist and cheater.
The stock price of Trump Media, which trades under the DJT ticker, has fallen sharply from a high of more than $71 per share shortly after began publicly trading in late March following a merger with a so-called special purpose acquisition corporation.
The monthslong Trump Media stock slide continued Wednesday, as shares of the company majority-owned by disgraced former President Donald Trump fell below $20 for the first time since the Truth Social maker went public in March of this year.
Trump, and other company executives and insiders, are set to expire as soon as Sept. 20, but that has so far barred them from cashing in on their shares.
Investing in Trump Media has been a way for his political supporters to gamble on his chances of beating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
The Republican presidential nominee and his running mate Sen. JD Vance must face the Democratic team of Harris, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in November’s election.
The Vice President has been rising in the polls since taking over after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
In a 10-Q filing on August 9, Trump Media reported a loss of $16.37 million for the second quarter ending June 30, compared to a $22.8 million loss for the second quarter in 2023.
About half of the loss for the most recent quarter was due to legal expenses related to Trump Media’s merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., the company said.
“Additionally, the Company incurred $3.1 million of IT consulting and software licensing expenses, primarily related to its software licensing agreement to power its new TV streaming service,” Trump Media said in a press release.
Revenue for the most recent quarter of $839,000 compared to $1.2 million for the same period last year.
“A significant portion of the decrease was attributable to a change in the revenue share with one of our advertising partners, in connection with an agreement intended to improve the Company’s short-term, pre-Business Combination financial position,” Trump Media said in its 10-Q filing.
“Additionally, revenue has varied as we selectively test a nascent advertising initiative on the Company’s Truth Social platform,” the company said.
Industry analysts say that the prospect of advertising revenue is weak, considering there is a strong possibility that corporations would alienate potential customers if they support the company associated with the only American president ever convicted of a crime.