Trump Media is now worth more than Elon Musk's X after stocks rally to new highs

Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social social-media network, has seen its stock rise in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 presidential election — and is currently worth more than social-media company Elon Musk's X. Formerly known as Twitter.

On Monday, shares of TMTG, which trades under the symbol “DJT,” ended the day up 21.6% at $47.36/share in regular trading. The latest outburst came after Trump's Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. That gives TMTG, which reported total revenue and steep losses of $1.6 million in the first half of 2024, a market capitalization of about $9.48 billion.

Musk, who acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal in 2022, has seen the value of the company — which he named X — drop significantly since his takeover. A disclosure last month by Fidelity, which owns a minority stake in X, suggests the investment firm values ​​the company at $9.4 billion, as reported by CNN (although the report notes that “other investors may value X differently”).

Trump beneficially owns 56.6% of TMTG's outstanding shares, making his stake currently worth north of $5.3 billion.

Industry analysts believe the jump in TMTG's stock price reflects growing enthusiasm among its investors that Trump will win the 2024 presidential election against VP Kamala Harris. “I've never seen anything like it,” Gene Munster, managing partner at venture-capital firm Deepwater Asset Management, told CNN in an article published Monday, referring to TMTG's soaring stock price. The value of this company is based almost entirely on the outcome of an election.”

Musk, the world's richest man and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is also a major supporter of Trump. The techno-billionaire spoke at Trump's MSG event on Sunday.

TMTG, which trades on the Nasdaq, hit a recent low closing price of $12.15 per share on Sept. 23 amid the expiration of a six-month lockup period during which TMTG insiders were not allowed to sell their stock. Trump said he had “absolutely no intention” of selling his shares.

TMTG has not released any significant financial news that would prompt a huge rally for the stock. For the second quarter of 2024, TMTG reported net sales of $836,900 and a net loss of $16.37 million, per its 10-Q SEC filing for the period. For Q1, the company reported revenue of $770,500 and a net loss of $327.6 million; Most of the loss in the first three months of the year was due to TMTG's merger with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corporation.

TMTG calls Truth Social “a safe haven for free expression amid increasingly strict censorship by big tech corporations.” Trump formed TMTG in 2021 after the former president was removed from Twitter (now called X), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other Internet platforms, saying he violated a ban against inciting violence related to the January 6, 2021, attacks. did At the US Capitol.

The tech mogul Twitter reinstated Trump's account on Musk X shortly after closing the deal, and the former president has also been reinstated on Matter's Facebook and Instagram, YouTube and others. However, Truth Social remains Trump's preferred social media platform.

Truth Social launches in early 2022 The company did not disclose how many people use Truth Social, saying in a recent filing that, “At this point in its development, TMTG believes that adherence to traditional key performance indicators such as sign-ups, average revenue. Active user accounts, including per user, ad impressions and pricing, or monthly and daily active users, can potentially divert focus from strategic evaluation of its business progress and growth.”