Former President Donald Trump’s ’s social media startup whipsawed in its first session as a publicly traded company, after the most high-profile blank-check deal in years added billions to his fortune — at least on paper. Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. jumped nearly 59% on Tuesday and briefly triggered a volatility-related trading halt before paring gains. The merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. to take the unprofitable company behind Truth Social public caps an eye-popping meme stock run, and provides a potential windfall for Trump as he faces a mounting series of legal and financial woes.
The share price of Digital World Access Corp. began trending downward following a shareholder vote Friday morning to merge with Donald Trump’s social media company: Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of the Truth Social digital platform. The deal, which personally gives Trump billions of dollars in potential equity value, includes contractual requirements barring him from selling shares for six months.
The numbers are the first time that any internal financial details on the social platform have been shared publicly, and they suggest that while Trump has made Truth Social his primary social media platform, it has not been translating into meaningful revenue for the tech startup, which is owned by Trump Media & Technology Group.