The stock of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., also known as TMTG, experienced a drop on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Monday. This downturn was a result of the company, which operates the social media platform Truth Social, founded by former U.S. President Donald Trump, recording a fiscal loss in 2023 following a profit in the previous year.
Trump Media, which made its market debut last week, saw a 21.5% depreciation in its shares at Monday's regular trading, closing at $48.66. On Tuesday, during pre-market activity, shares dipped an additional 4.4%, trading at $46.52.
The company's first financial report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, since becoming a public entity, disclosed a net loss of $58.19 million, or $0.58 per share in fiscal 2023. This is in stark contrast to the $50.52 million profit, or $0.51 per share, the year prior.
Operational losses amounted to $15.97 million while interest expenses hit $39.43 million, significantly higher than the previous year's $2.04 million. Despite these losses, revenue increased to $4.13 million in 2023 from $1.47 million in the preceding year.
TMTG CEO Devin Nunes, while announcing the results, noted that Truth Social had neither debt nor less than $200 million in the bank. This cash flow, he argued, positions the platform for expansion and enhancement. Nunes expressed intentions to capitalize on these opportunities to convert Truth Social into 'the quintessential free-speech platform for the American people.'
Trump had revealed plans to start his own social media platform, TRUTH Social, in October 2021- an invitation-only platform- after being banned from multiple social media platforms over posts deemed dangerous and inciting. These bans came into effect in January 2021, following an attack on the US Capitol, in which five people died.
The vivacious debut of Trump Media's stock followed its business merger with the blank check company, Digital World Acquisition Corp. Trump Media touted its entry onto public markets as testament to American demands for free-speech platforms, pushing back against what it sees as extreme censorship imposed by large technology companies.
In a nod to its former Chairman and Director, as well as the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, the company adopted the ticker symbol "DJT."
Initially, the media platform's shares surged by 50% on its public debut, closing its first day 16.1% higher, and achieving a market capitalization of $6.58 billion.
Following the tumble in share prices, the market capitalization of Trump Media now sits around $5.52 billion.
