Trump Media reports revenue decline and legal hurdles following 2024 election
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the Energy Dominance Council led by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in the Oval Office at the White House on February 14, 2025. In this same session, President Trump issued a second executive order withholding federal funding from schools and universities that impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Trump Media & Technology Group shares experienced a decline of about 1% in extended trading on Friday after the operator of Truth Social released its 2024 results.
Here's how the company performed:
- The company's revenue declined 12% year over year, according to its annual report.
- The net loss widened to $400.9 million from $58.2 million in 2023.
Trump Media debuted on Nasdaq under the ticker "DJT" last March, completing its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. The stock nearly doubled in value in 2024, achieving this after Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November. As of Friday's close, the stock was down about 11% year to date, resulting in a market capitalization of $6.59 billion.
In 2024, Trump Media incurred merger-related legal fees attributed to challenges from former President Biden's Securities and Exchange Commission. A change to a revenue-sharing agreement with an advertising partner resulted in reduced sales. Additionally, the annual report revealed that revenue varied as the company tested a nascent advertising initiative on its Truth Social platform.
Unlike Meta and other social media companies, Trump Media management stated that they do not believe in using traditional metrics such as the number of active users or average revenue per user. They argued that using such metrics "could potentially divert its focus from strategic evaluation with respect to the progress and growth of its business."
In the fourth quarter, Trump Media announced that its Truth+ video streaming service became available on Android, iOS, and the web.
The company has not held an earnings call since the merger.
As of Friday, a trust where President Trump is the sole beneficiary owns 52% of the voting power of the company's stock.
Trump actively publishes posts on Truth Social, where he has 8.9 million followers. On X, owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Trump has 100.9 million followers.
Currently, Trump Media holds $776.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, alongside $9.6 million in debt.
Chairman and CEO Devin Nunes, a former Republican Congressman, was quoted as saying, "We will continue to explore opportunities to partner, merge with, and acquire other entities that are able to function effectively if TMTG evolves into a holding company with subsidiaries spanning several industries."
