Trump Media's stock erases early gains as markets react to Biden's uneven debate performance

By Ciara Linnane

The parent of Trump's social-media platform Truth Social has been highly volatile

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.'s stock reversed its premarket gains to trade down 6.5% Friday, as investors continued to digest the first presidential debate between incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Betting markets were pricing in an increased likelihood that Trump will defeat Biden after Thursday's television debate in which the president reinforced rather than dispelled concerns about his age.

A raspy-voiced Biden attempted to hold Trump accountable for the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, his lies about the economy and illegal immigration and role in eroding abortion rights, but failed to land many blows.

Biden's uneven performance crystallized the concerns of many Americans that, at age 81, he is too old to serve as president and sparked a fresh round of calls for the Democrat to step aside, as the Associated Press reported.

Trump, meanwhile, declined to clearly state he would accept the results of the November election, four years after he promoted conspiracy theories about his loss that culminated in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

David Plouffe, Obama's former campaign manager, described the debate on MSNBC as a "DEFCON1" moment for Democrats.

More: Fact check: A look at some of the false claims made during Biden-Trump debate

Against that background, Trump Media (DJT), which runs former President Donald Trump's social-media platform Truth Social, moved higher in premarket trade before turning lower in official trade.

The stock has been volatile and is down 41% in the last three months, but up 107% in the year-to-date. It has shed 25% of its value in the last month after Trump's 34-count conviction in a criminal hush-money trial in May.

Trump owns about two-thirds of the company's outstanding stock.

Trump Media lost $58.2 million in 2023 on sales of $4.13 million, wider than the loss of $50.5 million posted in 2022, when the company had sales of $1.47 million. The tiny numbers are dwarfed by the company's $6.5 billion market cap.

Devin Nunes, the former Republican congressman who serves as chief executive of the company, has repeatedly alleged that there has been illegal activity by short sellers who expected the stock to fall.

For more, read: Donald Trump's latest windfall tops $5 billion as his social-media company's stock soars. But have investors read the fine print?

-Ciara Linnane

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06-29-24 1042ET

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