The price of shares in the company that merged with Donald Trump's social media group have hit a three-month low.
Trump holds almost 60 percent of Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs the Truth Social platform as its primary asset. But since shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., an existing shell company, agreed to merge with TMTG earlier this year—clearing the way for the former president's company to go public—its stock value has declined.
When the merged group debuted on the stock market on March 26, under the ticker DJT, shares initially surged above $78, closing its first day of trading 16 percent higher at $57.99 and giving the company a valuation of $11 billion. The value of each share in the merged group reached $71.90 on March 27, before its profit and loss figures were released.
On April 17, Google Finance data showed the value of each share at $22.84. This is the lowest the share price has been since January 16, exactly three months ago, when it was $22.35, meaning the share price is little more than before it merged with Trump's Truth Social.
Newsweek has contacted a TMTG representative for comment via email.
Speaking to Newsweek, Todd Landman, a professor of political science at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., said the stock was volatile and that Truth Social would need to gain more users to increase its value.
"The market will need to see a diversification of services, an expansion of users and a much larger number of advertisers before it sees any gains on its value," he said.
Landman continued: "It would appear that the stock will remain quite volatile, a circumstance that is helped by his considerable civil liability and the start of his criminal trial in Manhattan this week. The company was set up to rival other platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter) but it has not attracted many users. The company recently announced a new streaming service with the promise of TV content, but this has not yet had a positive impact on the share price. Should Mr. Trump seek to sell some or all of his shares, he will not be able to do so until September—which, given current events, is a very long time."
When questioned about the platform on the conservative network Real America's Voice, Devin Nunes, the CEO of Truth Social and a former Republican congressman for California, said Truth Social would incorporate TV into its offerings in the future.
"We're trying to take the best of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, TikTok—put it into one app. Well, we're now going to have the ability for canceled TV programs and/or maybe not canceled, but maybe not allowed on all the platforms," he said Tuesday evening. "You'll be able to actually watch television within Truth Social."
However, with multiple indictments—including the hush-money trial that started on April 15—Trump, the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee, may be more concerned with other issues than the status of Truth Social.
Heath Brown, an associate professor of public policy at the City University of New York told Newsweek: "If I was running for president and was on trial at the same time, I don't think I'd have very much time to worry about the sinking price of shares in my company."
Update 4/18/24 6:30 a.m. ET: This story was updated for clarity and the headline was changed.
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Kate Plummer is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. politics and national affairs, and ... Read more
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