DJT shares jumped and then fell sharply after the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) rose early Friday before erasing gains and falling by double digits after former President Donald Trump faced off against current Commander-in-Chief Joe Biden in the first 2024 presidential debate.

Shares of Trump’s social media parent company, Truth Social, fell about 12% in afternoon trading.

Debate experts say Biden’s unstable performance in the debate, which included a raspy voice and moments of confusion, It may help Trump win. Come November. Biden’s age, 81, has been a hot topic among voters concerned about whether he can continue to run the country.

“Biden’s stumbling and faltering performance has amplified concerns about his ability to serve and sparked a new round of panic in the Democratic Party,” said Isaac Boltansky, director of policy research at BTIG, in response to Thursday’s debate. “Trump won the debate and should be seen as the clear front-runner this morning, but his behavior and lies seemed to confirm the concerns some voters have about his fitness for office.”

DJT shares have had a turbulent performance in recent months, swinging between highs and lows.

In May, Trump He was found guilty A US court has charged Microsoft with falsifying 34 business records in an effort to influence the 2016 presidential campaign – a ruling that sent the company’s shares down 5% the day after the conviction.

Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, subsequently went public on the Nasdaq to merge With special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp.

Shares have fallen about 44% since the company debuted at the end of March.

Trump founded Truth Social after he was kicked off major social media apps like Facebook (META) and Twitter, the platform now known as X, in the wake of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Trump has since been reinstated on those platforms, Although the former posted the president almost exclusively on his Truth Social account throughout the trial.

In April, A Updated Regulatory Filing Trump Media reported sales of just over $4 million as its net loss reached nearly $60 million for the full year ended Dec. 31. The company warned that it expects the losses to continue amid greater profitability challenges.

In May the company It has been reported The first-quarter results showed a loss of $327 million, much of it tied to expenses related to its SPAC deal. The company disclosed that as of April 29, more than 621,000 different shareholders owned shares in Trump Media, noting that the “vast majority” of those were individual investors.

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Trump almost keeps 60% share At Trump Media, at its current levels of about $32 a share, the company boasts a market cap of about $4.3 billion, giving the former president a stake worth about $2.6 billion. Immediately after the company went public, Trump’s stake amounted to more than $4.5 billion.

In late April, the stock hit a milestone that secured Trump an additional $1.2 billion in cash. However, shareholders are still subject to a six-month lock-up period before they can sell or transfer shares.

Alexandra Channel He is a senior correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, linkedin, And email it to [email protected].

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