Former president and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump likely made a big payout this week as his social media platform, Truth Social, stock surged.
Shares of the company skyrocketed for several days straight this month, marking the longest price streak since June. While on Friday, Trump Media was up nearly 5 percent, the stock saw prior days in the week when it surged nearly 19 percent.
Over the past month, Donald Trump Media, which operates Truth Social, surged by roughly 53 percent. It now stands at roughly $25 a share.
With a market cap of roughly $5 billion, Trump stands to make a pretty penny from the recent stock activity.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on October 09, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Trump’s social media platform Truth Social stock has surged in the past week.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Since he owns 57 percent of the shares and his total worth in it is around $2.8 billion, Trump likely gained $300 million in stock value alone since Tuesday, said Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
“Truth Social is such a unique case because few times in the history of the market has a stock being so tied to the outcome of an election,” Beene told Newsweek. “We’re familiar with seeing certain sectors rise based on predictions of how an industry will benefit from a new administration, but with Truth Social, you’re dealing with a social media company that could potentially be majority-owned by the next President of the United States.”
Truth Social reached its peak in March when it made its entry into the Nasdaq, and shares soared to $79.38. While the stock has generally been on an upward trajectory this month, the stock saw a substantial uptick after Trump held another campaign rally this week near Butler, Pennsylvania, where he survived an assassination attempt on July 13.
“Trump has done quite well,” Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek. “My assumption is that he issued shares at higher valuations, which provided him significant capital by which to pay legal fees.”
Despite the positive stock activity, Truth Social has also been in the news lately for some potentially negative reasons.
The social media platform’s chief operating officer Andrew Northwall resigned in September, while chief product officer Sandro de Moraes also reportedly is no longer involved in the company.
Trump Media previously posted net losses of more than $340 million on revenue less than $2 million in the most recent quarterly reports.
Due to this recent activity, Thompson said this week’s stock activity was “relative.”
“As it pertains to the election, the stock has no impact,” Thompson said. “However, it may reflect people’s desire or interest in his campaign.”
Beene said the stock’s rise over the past week correlates with Trump’s improving poll numbers in swing states and could indicate his improving chances of winning the White House. But he still cautioned against joining the Truth Social bandwagon as an investor.
“For a multitude of reasons, it’s still a risky investment,” Beene said. “Regardless of your feelings on the election’s potential outcome, it’s probably best to avoid this stock as a long-term portfolio choice.”
