Trump Media Shares Plunge as Company Prepares for Possible Stock Sales

TLDR

• President Trump’s media company refiled paperwork to register shares worth about $2.2 billion held in a trust controlled by Donald Trump Jr.
• Trump Media & Technology Group stock fell over 6.5% following the filing announcement.
• The company described the filing as “routine” and emphasized there is no immediate plan to sell shares.
• Other shareholders, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Yorkville Advisors, also had shares registered for potential sale.
• Trump Media’s share price has been volatile since going public, dropping more than 40% this year despite the president’s majority ownership.

Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, has refiled paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would allow President Donald Trump’s trust to sell shares worth approximately $2.2 billion. The stock dropped more than 6.5% on Wednesday following the announcement.

The company described the filing as “routine” in a news release, emphasizing that it simply re-registers shares that were previously registered last summer. Trump Media stated there is currently no open window for any affiliates to sell shares.

After winning the presidential election last year, Trump transferred his shares to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, which is now controlled by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. The president has repeatedly stated he has no plans to sell his shares in the company.

Ownership and Market Performance

President Trump remains the largest single shareholder in Trump Media, controlling approximately 53% of its shares. Despite his substantial ownership, the company’s stock has experienced major volatility.

The share price has dropped more than 40% this year alone. With the stock trading around $19 per share, Trump’s stake is valued at nearly $2.2 billion.

The trading patterns of Trump Media stock have often appeared disconnected from the company’s financial performance. Truth Social’s parent company has generated little revenue to date and continues to post quarterly losses.

Other Shareholders Looking to Sell

The registration filing also includes shares held by other key shareholders who may be looking to sell. In total, existing shareholders are seeking to sell approximately 134 million shares.

Among those shareholders is Yorkville Advisors, an investment firm based in New Jersey. The company is working with Trump Media to create retail investment products, including a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund.

The filing registered over 17 million shares that Yorkville had acquired from Trump Media as part of a long-term financing arrangement. This relationship suggests the company is exploring new financial products beyond its social media platform.

Government Officials’ Holdings

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is another shareholder included in the filing. She holds 106,000 shares in the company.

Bondi acquired these shares in exchange for consulting work she performed for a shareholder of the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that Trump Media merged with to go public. This merger was the pathway that allowed Truth Social’s parent company to become publicly traded.

According to her ethics agreement filed with the federal Office of Government Ethics, Bondi has committed to divest herself of her equity stake in Trump Media. This divestment must occur within 90 days of her confirmation, which would be approximately early May.

The filing comes during an active period for media companies with connections to conservative audiences. Conservative news outlet Newsmax recently debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, with its stock soaring 180% in the previous trading session. Like Trump Media, Newsmax has proven popular with retail investors.

Trump Media has experienced wild swings in its stock price, especially around major political events such as the U.S. presidential election in November. When Trump announced last September that he would not sell his shares in the company, the stock surged 30% in a single day.