Trump Media’s stock price slides after Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate

Shares of the media business controlled by Donald Trump tumbled Wednesday, with investors appearing to downgrade the former president’s chances of winning the U.S. presidential election following his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Trump Media & Technology Group has become a financial barometer of sorts for Trump’s electoral prospects given he owns roughly 60% of its shares and is closely identified with Truth Social, the company’s conservative-leaning social media platform.

Trump Media’s stock price fell sharply in morning trade on Wednesday, sliding $2.79, or 15%, to $15.84 — its lowest level since the shares made their public market debut in March. The shares recovered slightly to close at $16.68, down more than than 10% on the day.

 The stock has fallen nearly 75% from its closing high of $66.22 on March 27, a day after it listed on the Nasdaq Composite index. 

The drop in Trump Media shares on Wednesday came as trading was mixed on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were largely flat, while the Nasdaq gained 246 points, or 1.4%.

By contrast, Trump Media shares — which trade under the ticker symbol “DJT,” Trump’s initials — jumped 8% on June 28 one day after his debate with President Joe Biden, whose rocky performance eventually led him to withdraw from the race. 

In an even more dramatic example how the company’s fortunes seem tied to Trump’s fate, Trump Media’s stock soared more than 40% after he survived an assassination attempt on July 13. Polls at the time also gave him the edge in the presidential race.

On paper, DJT’s precipitous drop has lopped billions off Trump’s personal wealth. He owns nearly 115 million shares of the company, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That values his stake in Trump Media, once worth roughly $6 billion when the company’s shares were riding high, at $1.9 billion. 

Trump and other company insiders will be free to sell shares once a regulatory lock-up period on Trump Media’s stock expires on September 19. Such restrictions are aimed at stopping major investors from dumping their shares in a company soon after it goes public. 

Growth struggles

Trump launched Truth Social after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Based in Sarasota, Florida, the company has been losing money and struggling to raise revenue. It lost nearly $58.2 million last year while generating only $4.1 million in revenue, according to regulatory filings.

Trump Media in August reported that its second-quarter revenue fell 30% to $836,900 from a year earlier. It also reported losing $16.4 million during the quarter, a narrower shortfall from its $22.8 million loss in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing. The company blamed the decline in ad sales on a change in revenue sharing with one of its advertising partners.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.