Shares of Trump Media & Technology, which oversees Truth Social, experienced a steep decline on Wednesday following the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. This decline reflects investor sentiment that Trump may have underperformed in the debate. The downward trend in the DJT stock continued into early Thursday.
Analysts generally gave the debate advantage to Harris, and the drop in DJT stock on Wednesday aligns with this perspective. Notably, tax policy, a critical issue for financial markets, was not discussed during the Trump-Harris debate.
On Wednesday, Trump Media’s stock fell by 10.5% to $16.68, reaching a new post-SPAC low of $15.30. The shares further decreased by about 2% in premarket trading on Thursday.
The stock’s performance is often seen as a gauge of sentiment towards Trump and his ongoing campaign. Prior to the debate, DJT shares had risen nearly 9%, closing at $18.63 on Tuesday.
The value of DJT stock is closely linked to the Trump brand, especially since the launch of Truth Social followed Twitter’s decision to suspend Trump’s account after the events of January 6, 2021. Trump holds a 65% stake in Trump Media, valued at several billion dollars based on current stock prices.
In August, the company reported revenue of less than $1 million for another quarter. Trump returned to X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 12 for a discussion with Elon Musk, and since then, DJT shares have dropped 25% as Trump has been active on the platform, despite his earlier commitment to remain on Truth Social.
Trump Media’s stock initially surged by over 16% on March 26, marking its first day of trading under the DJT ticker, reaching an intraday high of $79.38. This followed the merger of Digital World Acquisition with Trump Media & Technology Group, which was finalized on March 22. The special purpose acquisition company saw a 35% increase in stock value the day before rebranding to “DJT.”
Since its conversion, DJT shares have plummeted approximately 70%. In 2024, DJT/DWAC has faced a decline of around 4%.
The stock peaked at $46.27 on July 15, coinciding with a failed assassination attempt on Trump. Subsequent polling showed Trump leading, especially after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 race. However, since that peak, Trump stock has dropped by 64%.