Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT), the parent company of Truth Social, former President Donald Trump’s social media platform, have fallen on hard times post-Trump. was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records intended to influence the 2016 presidential campaign.
Shares initially fell (and then rallied) during extended trading hours after the sentencing, but they have since fallen again, down about 6% shortly after the opening bell.
Trump, who will likely appeal the verdict, will be sentenced July 11 and faces up to four years in prison on each count.
Trump Media, Truth Social’s parent company, went public on Nasdaq after merger with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Shares have fallen about 10% since the company’s IPO in late March.
Trump founded Truth Social after being kicked off major social media apps like Facebook and Twitter, the platform now known as X, following the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021. Trump has since been reinstated on those platforms , although the former president posted almost exclusively on his Truth Social account throughout the trial.
In April, a updated regulatory file showed that Trump Media reported sales of just over $4 million as net losses reached nearly $60 million for the full fiscal year ending Dec. 31. The company warned that it expects losses to continue amid greater profitability challenges.
In May, the company reported first-quarter results that revealed losses of $327 million, mostly related to expenses related to its SPAC deal. The company revealed that as of April 29, more than 621,000 different shareholders owned Trump Media stock, noting that the “vast majority” of them were retail investors.
Trump maintains a position roughly 60% participation in Social Truth. At current trading levels of around $48 per share, Trump Media has a market capitalization of around $6.5 billion, giving the former president a stake worth around $3.9 billion of dollars. Just after the company’s public debut, Trump’s stake was worth just over $4.5 billion.
In late April, the stock hit a milestone that earned Trump an additional $1.2 billion. However, shareholders are still subject to a six-month holding period before selling or transferring their shares.
Alexandra Canal is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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