Trump Media plunges amid plan to issue more shares. It's lost $7 billion in value since its peak.
After a short-lived honeymoon, former President Donald Trump's media company is experiencing a rough reception on Wall Street. Trump Media & Technology Group — which trades under the ticker DJT, his initials — tumbled 18.4% in Monday trading, a drop that follows last week's 21% plunge.
The sharp drop in value comes after Trump Media, whose primary asset is Truth Social, the social media platform, on Monday filed a document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that opens the door for the future potential sale of millions of shares. The document, called an S-1, relates to warrants held by investors that can be transformed into shares of stock, as well as shares held by company insiders.
The filing also includes all the shares held by the former president. Trump, however, remains under a "lockup" deal that largely restricts him from selling his shares for another roughly five months. His son, Donald Trump Jr., who is a director on the board, and CEO Devin Nunes, are also bound by the lockup.
The stock plunge has erased billions from Trump's stake — at least on paper. The shares soared when they began trading on March 26, giving Trump's 57% ownership position a value of $6.25 billion. But after DJT's recent slump, that stake is worth $2.1 billion, representing a paper loss of $4.15 billion.
Overall, shareholders have lost $7.2 billion in value since the stock touched a high of $79.38 on March 26. The shares tumbled $5.98, or 18.4%, to $26.61 on Monday.
When companies issue additional shares, they take on the risk of their stock price coming under downward pressure. That's due, in part, to simple laws of supply and demand — with more stock available, a company's share price tends to fall unless there's a commensurate increase in demand.
So far, the former president's supporters comprise a significant part of the company's investor base, with Trump Media CEO Nunes praising their support on Fox Business earlier this month. On Truth Social, some investors said they believed the stock would recover, while others said they were taking advantage of the stock's plunge to buy more shares.
"Bought more today just like a lot of you," one member of a Truth Social group dedicated to DJT shares wrote on Monday. "I believe time is our friend. Half a year until election. I can definitely hold until then at the minimum."
Other supporters on Truth Social noted that the Monday filing doesn't necessarily mean Trump plans to sell any of his 57% ownership stake in Trump Media.
"Trump has NOT signaled intentions to sell his shares," wrote Chad Nedohin, a pastor and musician, on Truth Social on Monday. "There is no new unexpected issuance of new shares. The increase in total shares in the S-1 is for the warrants."
S-1 filings are typically filed quickly after a SPAC deal closes, usually within 15 or 30 days, said Kristi Marvin, founder of SPACInsider.com, which specializes in SPAC deals.
Trump Media & Technology Group didn't immediately return a request for comment.
200,000 new retail investors
Trump, who relies on Truth Social as his primary social media platform, has about 7 million followers on the app, where he frequently blasts his critics and promotes favorable polls. He's also turned to Truth Social to rail about his criminal trial, which began Monday, over accusations of falsifying business records related to a "hush money" payment.
About 600,000 retail investors have bought shares in Trump Media & Technology group, with about 200,000 of them buying into the stock within the last few weeks, Nunes told Fox Business earlier this month. He called these small investors "the most amazing part about our company."
Those investors have had a wild ride since the stock began trading as DJT on March 26. The shares soared on its first two days of trading, but have since shed more than two-thirds of their value.
Such swings have prompted comparisons with so-called "meme" stocks like GameStop, which typically attract individual investors based on social media buzz, rather than traditional metrics favored by investors, such as revenue and profit growth.
Last year, Trump Media lost $58 million on revenue of $4.1 million — about half the annual sales booked by a single Chick-fil-A location.
—With reporting by the Associated Press.