Trump Media & Technology Group stock was climbing Thursday, outperforming the rest of the social-media sector.
Trump Media shares were up 8.1% at $38.57 in morning trading. The stock closed up 9.5% on Wednesday.
The rest of the social-media sector was rocked by Meta Platforms ’ earnings report on Wednesday, after its guidance fell slightly short of expectations. Meta was falling 13% in morning and peers Snap and Pinterest were both down more than 4%. In contrast, Trump Media looked relatively unaffected.
That’s likely because although Trump Media generates revenue from advertising, its stock performance is largely divorced from its financials and the wider state of the social-media market.
Trump Media’s revenue in 2023 was $4.1 million, and the company posted a net loss of $58.2 million, meaning the stock is hugely overvalued on most normal metrics. Its Truth Social platform is a niche player in social media, although it has announced plans to launch a streaming service.
Instead, the stock seems to be driven by investors buying the shares as a show of support for former U.S. President Donald Trump as he seeks a second term as president this fall, or those looking to speculate on its volatile moves.
Trump’s nearly 115 million shares in the company were valued at around $4.1 billion at Wednesday’s closing price. That figure includes 36 million earnout shares Trump was set to receive after the stock fulfilled the requirements of the award this week.
The former president is barred from selling Trump Media shares until a six-month lockup period expires in September, although he could seek a waiver from the company’s board, which includes one of his sons and several former members of his administration.
