Donald Trump recently said he wouldn’t sell his shares in Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT). But as of Thursday, he has that option — something that hasn’t been available since the social media company went public in March.
“I have absolutely no intention of selling,” the former president told reporters at a news conference last week. “I think it’s great. I’m using it as a way to spread my word.”
Shares of DJT rose double digits on Friday following his revelations, though the stock has recently given up those gains. Shares have fallen more than 10% over the past six days and were trading just under $15 on Thursday morning.
Stakeholders, including the former president, are subject to a six-month lockup period before selling or transferring shares. That lockup period expires on Thursday, though Trump still managed to pocket some cash in late April when the stock hit a milestone that earned him another $1.2 billion.
As Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul explained, the purpose of a lockup period is to protect the interests of a newly listed company and maintain stability before founders can cash out their shares.
“If I sell, it won’t be the same, and I can understand that,” Trump said Friday, adding that he knows his stake has “declined” in recent months.
Trump owns about 60% of DJT. At current levels, Trump Media has a market cap of about $3.3 billion, giving the former president a stake worth about $2 billion. Immediately following the company’s IPO, Trump’s stake was worth just over $4.5 billion.
Trump Media went public on the Nasdaq in late March after merging with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp. But the stock has had a bumpy ride since then, with shares swinging between highs and lows as moves have typically been tied to an unpredictable news cycle.
In June, the stock soared (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.
Stocks have been under pressure since Biden’s announcement, as Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has recently outpaced Trump in recent polls. The stock recently fell to new lows after last week’s debate as bets on a Harris presidency mounted.
In May, Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying corporate records to influence the 2016 presidential campaign — a verdict that sent stocks plummeting 5% the day after the conviction. His sentencing was recently postponed until Nov. 26.
Shares have fallen about 60% since the company’s IPO in late March. The stock remains near the bottom of its 52-week range and far from its record high of just over $79 per share.
Trump founded Truth Social after being kicked off major social media apps Facebook (META) and Twitter, the platform now known as X, following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots. Trump has since been reinstated to those platforms, officially returning to X in mid-August after a hiatus of about a year.
But as Truth Social takes on the social media establishment, the company’s foundations have long been called into question.
Last month, DJT reported second-quarter results that revealed a net loss of $16.4 million, about half of which was tied to costs 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.
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and send her an email at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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