Trump Media & Technology Group stock (DJT) leaped as much as 15% Friday and was briefly halted for volatility after Donald Trump said he would not sell his shares in the company, the home of Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social. Shares pared gains to around 9% shortly after his statement.
Trump, who made the announcement on his Truth Social account, maintains a roughly 60% interest in DJT. At current levels of around $30 a share, Trump Media boasts a market cap of about $6.5 billion, giving the President-elect a stake worth around $3.9 billion.
“There are fake, untrue, and probably illegal rumors and/or statements made by, perhaps, market manipulators or short sellers, that I am interested in selling shares of Truth. THOSE RUMORS OR STATEMENTS ARE FALSE. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF SELLING!” he wrote in the post, reiterating previous comments of his intention not to sell.
“I hereby request that the people who have set off these fake rumors or statements, and who may have done so in the past, be immediately investigated by the appropriate authorities,” he added. “Truth is an important part of our historic win, and I deeply believe in it.”
Shares in the company have been on a wild ride over the past week. On Thursday, the stock fell nearly 23% to reverse the gains it enjoyed the day before as Trump clinched victory over Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
With Friday’s moves to the upside, the stock is down just 2% over the past five days, although shares have rallied by more than 60% in the past month.
In September, shares in Trump Media traded at their lowest level since the company’s debut following the expiration of its highly publicized lockup period. The stock eventually bounced back from its lows as both domestic and overseas betting markets began to shift in favor of a Trump victory.
Trump founded Truth Social after he was kicked off major social media apps like Facebook (META) and Twitter, now X, following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. Trump has since been reinstated on those platforms. He officially returned to posting on X in mid-August after about a year’s hiatus.
As Truth Social attempts to take on social media incumbents, the fundamentals of the company have long been in question.
On Tuesday, DJT dropped third quarter results after the market close that revealed a net loss of $19.25 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30. This was narrower than the $26.03 million the company reported in the year-ago period.
DJT also reported revenue of $1.01 million, a slight year-over-year drop compared to the $1.07 million it reported in the third quarter of 2023. Over the past nine months ending Sept. 30, revenue has fallen 23% from the prior-year period.
