Donald Trump is one of the world's most famous businessmen, but his companies have usually been privately held. Now investors have the chance to throw their lot in with the 45th and 47th president of the United States through Trump Media & Technology. Its main product Truth Social has a tough task as it competes with X, owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. With the stock popping after the firm announced a move into finance, is DJT stock a buy now? Read on to find out.
The social media play made its stock market debut after merging with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Digital World Acquisition. It trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker "DJT." These are the real estate mogul's initials, a touch sure to please supporters.
Trump has boasted that he will offer a "Big Tent" platform as he tries to take on technology giants such as X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook parent Meta Platforms. But it remains to be seen whether this is enough to make the ultimate Donald Trump stock a buy now.
Donald Trump On DJT
Trump Media's main product at the moment is Truth Social, a platform touted as an alternative to Twitter. It is now available on Apple and Android devices. Trump, who was struggling to reach his audience via social media following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, unveiled his vision for the company in October 2021.
In an investor presentation, the firm said it expects Truth Social average revenue per user can grow to $13.50 by 2026. It also expected to have 81 million users by then. While the company does not report that number, it is estimated to have about 1 million to 2 million users.
It also guided for 40 million TMTG+ subscribers by 2026. The average monthly fee per user was seen hitting $9 that year.
However Trump Media is currently losing money with barely any revenue. It's keeping its cards close to its chest on the business front.
"At this juncture in its development, TMTG believes that adhering to traditional key performance indicators, such as signups, average revenue per user, ad impressions and pricing, or active user accounts including monthly and daily active users, could potentially divert its focus from strategic evaluation with respect to the progress and growth of its business," the firm said in its Nov. 2024 10-Q filing.
Lockup Expires For DJT Stock, Trump Makes This Move
Donald Trump owned nearly 115 million of the company's outstanding shares, more than 50% of the float.
But the stock has now been placed into a revocable trust, of which he is the sole beneficiary, a regulatory filing from December revealed. The trust is controlled by his son Donald Trump Jr.
While the lock-up period prohibiting the former and soon-to-be president from selling his stake has expired, Trump has said he has "absolutely no intention of selling" his shares in the company.
Trump Media is now led by Chief Executive Devin Nunes, a Republican who previously served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee from 2015 to 2019. He resigned from the House in December 2021 to take on the role.
Trump Media Eyes 'Patriot Economy' With Finance Offerings
Trump Media stock was boosted after the company announced it is moving into financial services. The scheme will include the launch of Truth.Fi, a new financial technology brand.
"To diversify the Company's cash and cash-equivalent reserves of over $700 million as of December 31, 2024, the board has approved the investment of up to $250 million to be custodied by Charles Schwab," the company said in a media release.
The firm will look to allocate money to traditional investment vehicles such as exchange-traded funds as well as bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies. The company said there will be a focus on "American growth, manufacturing, and energy companies" as well as other initiatives that "strengthen the Patriot Economy."
"Developing American First investment vehicles is another step toward our goal of creating a robust ecosystem through which American patriots can protect themselves from the ever-present threat of cancellation, censorship, debanking, and privacy violations committed by Big Tech and woke corporations," CEO Nunes said.
Donald Trump Loves Truth
Truth Social's biggest competitor is X, owned by his most famous backer, Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The tech billionaire purchased his social media platform for about $44 billion.
While Trump cheered Musk's takeover by saying he underlined his dedication to his own platform, saying "I LOVE TRUTH!"
Trump has consistently committed himself to his own site, which is important to the future of his own product given he is a massive social media draw.
While his account on X, which has more than 97 million followers, is now regularly updated with new content, his Truth Social page remains his favored mouthpiece. This is despite its reach being lower, with the incoming president having 8.5 million followers there.
DJT Stock Pulls Back After Inauguration Day
The IBD Stock Analysis shows inherent problems with DJT stock. Its IBD Composite Rating, which ranks all-around performance, sits at a poor 27 out of 99.
Its recent powerful rally has run out of steam for now, even when its Jan. 29 gain is taken into account. Its Relative Strength Rating has slipped from a very strong 94 out of 99 to its current score of 10 out of 99. This means it has only outperformed 10% of stocks in terms of market performance over the past 12 months. Not only this, but the sheer volatility of the equity is enough to give any investor heartburn.
It crashed 70.8% in 2022, a dreadful performance by anybody's standards, before it ended 2023 up 16.7%. This lagged the S&P 500's gain of more than 24.2%. It turned in a gain of 94.9% last year, muscular performance by anyone's standard.
Despite this, 2024 was a wild year for holders of Trump Media & Technology stock. It flashed round-trip sell signals from a consolidation 58.72 and an old cup-base entry of 25.85. It also flashed another sell signal by sinking below its 50-day moving average.
After pulling back sharply from highs, DJT stock is now down just nearly 5% in 2025. In contrast, the S&P 500 is up around 3%. The 50-day line is a resistance area to watch.
It is now down around 59% from last year's high of 79.38, which it reached in March. Additionally, the stock is down almost 82% from its all-time high of 175. It reached this level in October 2021 when it still traded as the SPAC Digital World.
The hype around Trump has allowed the stock to vault to dizzying heights before plummeting back to Earth. Unfortunately for recent buyers who piled in just after the election, it has happened again.
Donald Trump Stock Misses This Key Ingredient
Investors should look for stocks that boast consistent earnings growth if they are following the IBD investing methodology. But this is a very important area where DJT stock falls short. Its lack of earnings has netted it a poor EPS Rating of 42 out of 99.
In the most recent quarter it narrowed its loss per share to 10 cents compared to the equivalent quarter of 2023's loss of 19 cents. Trump Media has lost money in each of the past seven quarters, MarketSurge data shows.
Revenue is scant: $1 million in the third quarter after roughly $800,000 in each of the prior three quarters.
There are a lot of hurdles to overcome before Trump Media becomes a profitable enterprise, not least competition from giants such as Facebook, X, TikTok and Snap.
Institutional sentiment is heating up though, one mark in its favor. It holds an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A-, which means that institutions have been net buyer of DJT stock as of late. But overall ownership remains low, with just 17% of shares being held by funds.
Is The Ultimate Donald Trump Stock A Buy Now?
Right now, buying Trump Media stock is a risky proposition. The firm has been losing money in recent quarters and its Truth Social product is going head-to-head with X, which is owned by Trump ally Musk. Its new move into the financial space will see it try to compete with powerful established players.
Challenges remain pronounced for the ultimate Donald Trump stock, despite recent institutional investment in the company. The poor fundamental picture means Trump Media stock is not a buy at the moment. Recent price performance is also disappointing.
Investors looking for true market leaders should check out IBD Stock Lists, including the IBD 50 list of top-performing stocks.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
