Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty in hush money case. This verdict is affecting not only his presidential election campaign but also business. Shares of Trump Media & Te💃chnology Group, the parent company of social networking site Truth Social, tumbled on Thursday after his conviction.
A New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in a scheme to unlawfully influence the 2016🔴 presidential election through hush money payments ꦐto a porn actor who alleged a sexual encounter with Trump.
As a result of the verdict, Trump Med๊ia’s stock, trading under the ticker symbol “DJT,” dropped about 9🌌% in after-hours trading on Thursday.
Since its debut in late March, Trump Media’s stock has shown extreme volatility, often characterized as a "meme stock" due to its tendency to swing sharply in value as small investors attempt to capitalize on short-term gains. The stock hit an intraday peak of nearl✤y $80 on March 26.
In contrast, t🅷he S&P 500 has risen almost 10% year-to-date.
Earlier in May, Trump Media disc💙losed loss exceeding $300 million last quarter, according to its first earnings report as a public company. For the quarter ending March 31, the company reported a loss of $327.6 million, largely attributed to $311 million in non-cash expenses related to its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC).
DWAC, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), provided a faster route for Trump Media to go public but with less regulatory scrutiny🃏.
Compounding its financial troubles, Trump Media recently fired its auditor, BF Borgers, following federal charges against the firm for "massive fraud." The dismissal on May 3 led to a delay in filing its quarterly earnings report. Trump Media has cycled through at lea𝔍st two other auditors — one that resigned in July 2023, and another that was terminated by its board in March, just as it was rehiring BF Borgers.
