Donald Trump’s media company soared before falling 11% Friday following President Joe Biden’s disastrous performance during Thursday night’s debate against the former commander-in-chief.
Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of social media platform Truth Social, surged more than 10% in pre-market trading on Friday — a sign that investors were growing more confident that Trump can re-take the White House.
TMTG stock, which is listed on the Nasdaq, gave up most of the gains after the opening bell and closed at $32.75. The stock is down 43% since the company went public March 26.
While investors normally gauge companies by metrics and fundamentals such as price-to-earnings ratio and earnings per share, TMTG’s stock price is pegged to the political fortunes of Trump, the company’s chairman and top shareholder.
TMTG reported revenue of $770,500 for the March quarter and an adjusted operating loss of $12.1 million. It was last valued at $6.7 billion.
But if Trump wins in November, it would presumably elevate Truth Social since the platform would be the primary vehicle of communication through which he would speak to the nation — as Trump did with Twitter while campaigning in 2016.
“We will see these movements linked increasingly to how the election expectations evolve around Trump … markets are happy to have one indicator to look to in order to price in all this,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, told Reuters.
“Fundamentally speaking, there is nothing much behind the Trump Media & Technology Group. The moves that we see are mostly speculative.”
Biden’s showing in Thursday’s debate, during which the 81-year-old Democrat stammered and appeared lethargic and frail, has ignited panic within his party — and sparked growing calls for him to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.
A CNN post-debate poll found that two out of three viewers thought Trump won.
TMTG’s shares have more than doubled this year as Trump gained momentum in his bid to become the Republican candidate in the election.
The stock came under pressure earlier this month after a jury found Trump guilty of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star.
Trump owned 64.9% of TMTG as of June 10, which is worth about $4.2 billion as of last close, according to LSEG data.
Meanwhile, prison operators Geo Group and CoreCivic climbed 4.9% and 2.9%, respectively, on expectations of a tighter crackdown on illegal immigration.
Trump said during the debate that Biden had failed to secure the southern border.
With Post Wires
