Investors in Trump Media & Technology Group’s stock are throwing in the towel.

Shares of TMTG (DJT) tumbled 14% Tuesday after closing 18% lower Monday. Driving the stock lower Tuesday: The company’s premier product, Truth Social, announced a major expansion into streaming, a notoriously cost-intensive business in which media behemoths like Disney have struggled to turn a profit.

TMTG’s stock, majority-owned by former President Donald Trump, is down more than 70% from the all-time high it set on March 26, the day after it merged with a blank-check acquisition company to go public. Although the company is still worth billions of dollars, it is struggling to make money and desperate for cash. Experts have warned investors to be careful if they choose to trade the stock, because the company doesn’t have the fundamentals to back up its sky-high valuation.

Trump Media lost $58 million in 2023 and made just $4.1 million in revenue. So, it announced Monday it would sell 21.5 million more shares to the public to raise cash — even though that would dilute the value for existing shareholders.

A home for ‘suppressed’ content

The streaming initiative didn’t give investors any reason to get enthused about the company. Truth Social said it spent the past six months testing its web, iPhone and iPad apps for live TV streaming, and it hopes to launch a content delivery network to stand up streaming apps for phones and tablets — and eventually smart TVs.

Truth Social suggested its streaming network could host live news, religious programing and family-friendly shows, movies and documentaries that “has been cancelled, is at risk of cancellation, or is being suppressed on other platforms and services.”

“With our streaming content, we aim to provide a permanent home for high-quality news and entertainment that face discrimination by other channels and content delivery services,” said TMTG CEO Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman for California in a statement. “There is a lot of great content that simply can’t find an audience for unjust reasons, and we want to let these creators know they’ll soon have a guaranteed platform where they won’t be cancelled.”

Truth Social’s latest push sounds similar to Elon Musk’s X, which claims to be the streaming platform that best defends free speech. But X has hundreds of millions of active users — hundreds of times Truth Social’s audience — and has still struggled to attract advertisers after Musk reshaped the business, allowing hate speech and conspiracy theories to run rampant on the platform.

Trump’s association with the brand appears to be the primary reason for its sky-high valuation. That helped turn shares into a meme stock — that is, the company doesn’t trade on its fundamentals so much as it trades on emotional responses.

Trump added billions of dollars to his net worth after TMTG’s merger with the blank check company in late March. But his shares’ value has plunged from a peak of $5.2 billion to about $1.8 billion. Trump’s net worth fell roughly $300 million Tuesday from the stock’s plunge.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

About an hour after day one of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan closed, the former president published the first of what would be a series of posts on Truth Social about his disdain for the trial, specifically his required attendance.

The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, filed a motion in papers made public on Tuesday to hold Trump in contempt of court for violating a partial gag order in the case.

Prosecutors said that Trump had already violated his gag order three times, posting about the witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels on social media. They asked the judge to fine Trump $3,000 for the violation. Merchan said he will hold a hearing on the alleged violations on 23 April.

In his posts, Trump blasted Judge Juan Merchan for requiring Trump to attend the trial every day it is in session. The trial, centered on hush-money payments Trump funneled to the adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election, is expected to last at least six weeks. Daniels said she and Trump had a brief affair in 2006.

Attending the trial, Trump said, would mean he will have to miss the high school graduation of his son, Barron Trump.

“Who will explain for me, to my wonderful son, Barron, who is a GREAT Student at a fantastic School, that his Dad will likely not be allowed to attend his Graduation Ceremony, something that we have been talking about for years,” Trump wrote on Monday afternoon after court ended for the day. Trump called Merchan a “Conflicted and Corrupt New York State Judge” overseeing “a bogus ‘Biden Case’”.

Trump said that he would also be unable to attend the US supreme court hearing arguments for his presidential immunity claims over the January 6 insurrection.

“This shows such great disdain and disrespect for our Nation’s Highest Court, especially for a topic so important as Presidential Immunity, without which our country would never be the same!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Though Merchan subjected Trump to a gag order before the trial began, it only extends to prosecutors other than Bragg, witnesses, court employees, jurors and their families. Trump is free to criticize Merchan himself, though it will probably not help Trump win the favor over the judge, who will decide on Trump’s sentence if the jury finds him guilty.

Before the trial, Merchan extended the gag order to cover his family and Bragg’s family after Trump posted about Merchan’s daughter, who worked for a company that helped Democratic candidates with digital campaigns. Trump and his lawyers have twice tried to get Merchan recused from the case, to no avail.

Trump’s lawyers in court argued that the posts were not covered by the gag order as Trump was responding to allegations the witnesses made. In another post on Tuesday morning, Trump called Merchan a “Trump Hating Judge” who “won’t let me respond to people that are on TV lying and spewing hate all day long.

“He is running rough shod over my lawyers and legal team,” Trump wrote. “I want to speak, or at least be able to respond. Election Interference! RIGGED, UNCONSTITUTIONAL TRIAL! Take off the Gag Order!!!”

Jury selection continues on Tuesday and could take up much of the trial’s first week.

Trump’s criminal hush money trial: what to know

• A guide to Trump’s hush money trial – so far

• The key arguments prosecutors will use against Trump

• How will Trump’s trial work?

• From Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels: The key players

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Group Black has acquired the digital marketing and influencer agency Galore Media Inc., which specializes in content and activations around beauty, pop culture and fashion. The companies are set to make the announcement Tuesday at marketing conference Possible Miami. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Galore has featured the likes of Zendaya, Bad Bunny and Kylie Jenner on its digital covers, with influencer and former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Lele Pons as Galore’s latest cover face of an issue that will include the next generation of Latin and Hispanic creators. Pons is part of the company’s talent agency, Galore Agency.

More from WWD

ADVERTISEMENT

Galore claims 15 million users a month through its various social channels and has collaborated with brands including Samsung, Apple and Estée Lauder.

Galore cofounders Mike Albanese and Prince Chenoa will join Group Black as senior vice president and editor in chief of Galore, respectively.

“Looking forward, we plan to further Galore’s dominance with culturally connected diverse audiences through developing bespoke content and experiences tied to beauty, fashion, lifestyle and music,” said Travis Montaque, Group Black chief executive officer and founder. “Our focus extends beyond mere social media presence; we plan to elevate Galore’s editorial and content offerings, enriching its digital footprint and solidifying its cultural relevance.”

Added Chenoa: “Group Black understands culture authentically, and I could not think of a better partner to help amplify and grow Galore’s reach and mission.”

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link