Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) stock extended gains by another 13% on Tuesday after closing more than 10% higher on Monday.
The moves come as investors assess current Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’ recent media appearances, along with a surprise cameo from Elon Musk at Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend. It was the same location where the former president survived an assassination attempt in July.
Tech billionaire Musk, who is CEO of Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX and also owns social media platform X (formerly Twitter), has been outspoken about his support for Trump ahead of next month’s election. Trump has even said he would consider a Cabinet position for Musk, but that the businessman would likely not be able to serve “with all he has to offer.”
At Saturday’s rally, Musk told the crowd that Trump is the only candidate who can “preserve democracy in America,” adding that this will be “the last election” if Trump does not win.
The former president remains in a deadlocked race against Harris, who has just begun a series of media appearances in an effort to boost recent momentum in the polls.
Harris appeared on an episode of “Call Her Daddy,” a popular podcast aimed at Generation Z, along with a sit-down interview for CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
In the one-on-one interview with CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker, Harris defended her proposals on the economy and immigration, but was pressed on how she would finance some of these efforts.
Trump withdrew from an interview with the program last week after previously agreeing to the sit-down, the network said.
Trump has about a 60% stake in DJT. At current levels of about $21 per share, Trump Media has a market capitalization of about $4.2 billion, giving the former president a stake of about $2.5 billion. Immediately after the company’s public debut, Trump’s stake was worth just over $4.5 billion.
Trump Media went public in late March after merging with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp. news cycle.
Last month, the stock traded at its lowest level since the company’s debut, following the expiration of the much-discussed lock-up period.
Stakeholders, including the former president, were subject to a six-month lock-up period before they could sell or transfer shares. That lock-up period expired on September 19, although Trump said at the time he would not sell his stake.
“I have absolutely no intention of selling,” the former president told reporters at a news conference before the lock-up period expired. “I love it. I use it as a way to speak my word.”
In June, the stock plummeted (and then fell) after current Commander-in-Chief Joe Biden stumbled in his first 2024 presidential debate with Trump. Biden dropped out of the presidential race a month later.
Since Biden’s announcement, stocks have remained under pressure as investors debate the possibility of a Harris win.
In May, Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying corporate records intended to influence the 2016 presidential campaign — a verdict that sent stocks down 5% the day after the conviction. His sentencing was recently postponed until November 26.
Shares are down about 50% since the company’s public debut.
Trump founded Truth Social after being kicked off major social media apps like Facebook (META) and Twitter, now X, following the Capitol riots of January 6, 2021. Trump has since been reinstated on those platforms. He officially returned to X in mid-August after a hiatus of about a year.
But as Truth Social tries to take on the social media incumbents, the company’s fundamentals have long been in question.
In August, DJT reported second-quarter results showing a net loss of $16.4 million, about half of which was related to expenses related to the company’s SPAC deal. The company also reported revenue of just under $837,000 for the quarter ended June 30, down 30% year over year.
Last week, the company announced that its COO had resigned in September.
Alexandra Canal is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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