Truth Social Is Now Worth More Than The New York Times
In a striking debut on NASDAQ, Donald Trump’s media enterprise, the proprietor of Truth Social, closed its first trading day with a valuation soaring to $8 billion. The remarkable market capitalization eclipsed long-established media giants such as The New York Times.
Initially peaking at $10 billion amidst frenetic trading, the company’s valuation has settled at a still-impressive figure, despite generating only $3 million in revenue for the first nine months of the previous year. The New York Times is only valued at around $7 billion according to the Daily Mail.
The financial phenomenon places Trump’s media firm’s share price at an astonishing 2,000x its revenue, drawing attention from investors as well as critics of the former president. Some have argued the company’s skyrocketing value is less about its financial fundamentals and more about investment in Trump’s brand and potential political future.
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Truth Social was first launched by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) in February 2021, with the platform positioned as an alternative to other social media networks like Twitter and Facebook, which have been criticized by some conservatives for censorship and bias against certain viewpoints.
The development and launch of Truth Social were announced after Trump was banned from major social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, following the January 6 Capitol breach in 2021.
The network has aimed to attract a user base that feels alienated by the content moderation policies of established social media platforms, promising fewer restrictions on the type of content that can be shared. Despite some hurdles, it has become a notable platform among conservative circles in the United States.
The platform’s interface and functionality bear similarities to Twitter, with features that allow users to post messages, images, and videos, follow other users, and engage with content through likes and replies.
On Tuesday, Trump’s stock surged by up to 55% in early trading. The stock opened at $70.90, up from Monday’s close of $49.95, and peaked at $77.67 according to Axios.
This spike in stock value meant that Trump, who owns approximately 78 million shares and has voting control, saw his stake’s worth increase to as much as $6 billion. However, due to a lockup agreement, Trump is restricted from selling his shares for six months, with the possibility of early sale subject to board approval and market demand.
Upcoming financial disclosures are anticipated, as the company must file an 8-K by week’s end, revealing its full-year 2023 financials after reporting a $49 million net loss on $3.4 million in revenue through the first nine months.
Trump, who owns a 78% stake in the company, saw his net worth swell by $6 billion as a result of trading, making it the single greatest one-day return for him in his career. The stock opened Tuesday morning at a price of $78 per share. Analysts are continuing to monitor the fundamentals of Trump’s venture, which they say will need to increase its quarterly revenues if it is to sustain the lofty valuation.
“This is a very unusual situation. The stock is pretty much divorced from fundamentals,” said Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business who has studied initial public offerings for 40 years. He warned that the DJT stock could ultimately settle far below its current share price.
“I’m reasonably confident the stock price will eventually drop to $2 a share and could even go below that if the company blows through the money it got from the merger,” he added, warning that investors who previously lived through the era of meme stocks like AMC and Gamestop should be cautious about approaching the next opportunity for volatility.
Trump Media brought in $3.4 million over the first nine months of 2023, presenting an opportunity for advertisers to flock to Truth Social as it shifts the spotlight away from X which has struggled with its own attempts to keep advertisers from looking elsewhere.