Shares for Trump Media on Wednesday dropped more than 15%, falling to what would be a new record low for the stock, after Vice President Kamala Harris became the betting favourite to win the election after a debate with former President Donald Trump, the majority stakeholder in the Truth Social parent.
Key Facts
- Trump Media and Technology Group shares fell below $15.75 as of around 9:50 a.m. EDT, pacing the stock’s record low price of $16.70 set on Sept. 4.
- Trump faced off in his second debate of the 2024 election and his first against Harris on Tuesday, and several bookmakers favoured Harris’ performance: The Election Betting Odds tracker, which consolidates odds from four separate markets, suggests Harris has a 51.8% chance of winning and the crypto platform Polymarket—which previously favoured Trump—has both candidates with a 49% chance.
- The value of Trump’s roughly 60% stake—totalling 78.75 million shares—dropped to $1.2 billion from $1.4 billion.
What To Watch For
Whether Trump offloads shares in Trump Media. Since going public in March through a reverse merger with a special-purpose company, some shareholders—those who own 5% or more of shares or who serve in high-level management positions—have been unable to sell their shares in a lock-up period. The earliest possible date for the lock-up period to end is Sept. 19, if Trump Media shares remain above $12.
Big Number
79%. That’s how much the value of Trump Media shares has decreased since hitting a record-high of $79.38 on March 25.
Key Background
Trump Media shares have remained volatile in recent weeks despite declining steadily as the lock-up period nears and Trump returned to X. The Truth Social parent’s market value has fallen from a near $10 billion peak in May to over $3 billion on Tuesday, though some analysts believe the company is overvalued after recording a $16 million loss in its recent quarter. The stock dropped and surged amid Trump’s campaign, and previously jumped as high as 13% after Trump debated with President Joe Biden, whose performance led to calls for him to drop out of the race. Shares increased by about 32% on July 15, days after an assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
This article was originally published on forbes.com.
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