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Trump Media reported a net loss of $327.6 million in the first quarter of 2024 and brought in $770,500 in revenue, according to a Monday SEC filing. Stock prices tumbled in the days that followed.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Donald Trump's social media platform Truth Social, credited the loss, in part, to the costs of merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp. to go public at the end of March.
Experts have likened the stock to a meme stock, given its volatility and potential for overvaluation, noting that Trump Media investors may be more ideologically driven than your average anti-short seller. The company's CEO lauded its 'legion of retail shareholders' in a release this week.
“After an unprecedented, years-long process, we have consummated our merger and dispensed with the vast bulk of merger-related expenses, leaving the Company well-capitalized and supported by a legion of retail shareholders who believe in our mission to provide a free-speech beachhead against Big Tech censorship," Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a press release.
Share prices nosedived this week, dropping to $44.19 at close Tuesday, down 13.2% from Friday's close.
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Trump Media stock price
How the parent company of Truth Social went public
Trump founded his social media company in 2021 after being booted from other major platforms following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Trump Media went public on the Nasdaq on March 26 through a merger with shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The merger was announced in 2021.
Trump's debut on the stock market was splashy, with Trump Media shares soaring, helped partly by – and to the delight of – his supporters.
But regulatory filings show the company was operating at a loss in 2023, making about $4 million in revenue while losing more than $58 million.
Accounting firm BF Borgers CPA PC said in a letter to Trump Media shareholders that the operating losses “raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”
Trump Media Q1 filing provides year-over-year comparison
BF Borgers CPA PC was shut down by the SEC recently after being accused of "massive fraud." This made the Trump Media's filing a bit of a surprise, according to Axios, and the numbers here have not been audited.
Monday's filing shows side-by-side comparisons of the Q1 in 2023 versus 2024.
◾ Q1 2023 Revenue: $1.1 million | Q1 2023 Net loss: $210,300