Trump Media says its second-quarter revenue plunged 30% to under $900,000

Trump Media and Technology Group, the social media business owned by former President Donald Trump, said its second-quarter revenue plunged 30% to $836,900 from a year earlier. 

The company, whose main asset is the social media network Truth Social, also reported losing $16.4 million during the quarter, representing a narrower shortfall from its $22.8 million loss in the year-earlier period, according to a Friday regulatory filing.

Trump Media, which trades under the ticker DJT — Trump’s initials — has drawn a base of small investors who are acolytes of the former president, with many following the stock’s ups and downs on Truth Social. While company shares have plunged 51% in the last three months, Trump Media still commands a valuation of about $5 billion, according to financial data firm FactSet.

That lofty valuation, as well as wild swings in its stock price, have prompted some analysts to compare the business with meme stocks, or companies that trade on social media buzz instead of traditional financial yardsticks such as revenue growth and profitability. 

In a Friday statement, CEO Devin Nunes said the company’s plans are to build out a Truth+ streaming service and “explore numerous other possibilities for growth, including mergers and acquisitions.”

In the regulatory filing, the company said all second-quarter revenue stemmed from advertising on the Truth Social platform. It also blamed the 30% plunge in ad sales to a change in revenue sharing with one of its advertising partners, which it didn’t name. 

“Additionally, revenue has varied as we selectively test a nascent advertising initiative on the Company’s Truth Social platform,” it added. 

Trump Media describes itself as a tech company that has “experienced substantial growth” since Truth Social debuted in 2022, according to the regulatory filing. While losses are common for tech startups, institutional investors typically want fledgling businesses to post strong revenue growth, which suggests they’ll be able to turn a profit at some point.

The regulatory filing warned that the company expects to incur operating losses “for the foreseeable future” as it works to add more users and attract more advertisers.