The stock price for former President Donald Trump’s social media company has been in a sharp decline since late July, coinciding with President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race and his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to a report from CNN on Thursday, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of the Truth Social microblogging platform, has seen its stock drop by roughly 20% since July 21, the day Biden announced he would not seek a second term. Due to Trump’s substantial ownership stake in the company, CNN estimated that this decline has resulted in a loss of approximately $800 million in his net worth.
As of Thursday afternoon, MarketWatch data indicated that TMTG was trading at $27.12 per share, a significant decrease from the $34.70 share price recorded on July 22. Over the past five days alone, the stock has lost $4 per share, showing no signs of an imminent recovery.
TMTG’s stock has previously suffered after Trump faced personal setbacks. In late May, following his conviction on all 34 felony counts in his hush money cover-up trial by a New York jury, the company’s stock dropped significantly, costing Trump about $500 million in personal net worth.
With more than 114.7 million shares, Trump’s finances are heavily tied to TMTG’s market performance. Earlier this year, the stock, trading as $DJT on the Nasdaq Composite, became a popular target for short sellers, who profit by betting on the decline of a stock.
Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman from California, accused some short sellers of using an illegal tactic known as “naked” shorting, where the short seller does not first secure the shares before shorting them. Citadel Securities responded, calling Nunes a “proverbial loser” and criticizing him for blaming the company’s poor market performance on naked shorting, labeling him “exactly the type of person” Trump would have fired on “The Apprentice.”
The stock’s poor performance since its public debut at nearly $70 per share in March can also be attributed to the company’s financial troubles. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, TMTG posted $58 million in losses and generated just over $4 million in revenue in 2023.
Despite the temptation to liquidate his shares to alleviate financial pressures from civil judgments and his nationwide presidential campaign, Trump is legally barred from selling any of his TMTG shares until late September due to an agreement he signed before the company went public.
The company has also been embroiled in litigation since its initial public offering (IPO) this spring. In its first week of trading, TMTG’s stock lost about $4 billion, prompting Trump to sue his two business partners for allegedly mishandling the merger that led to the IPO. His partners have filed a countersuit in response.
As TMTG navigates these financial and legal challenges, the company’s future remains uncertain, with Trump’s substantial financial stake and the ongoing litigation adding to the complexity.