Trading of Trump Media was halted Thursday after falling by nearly a quarter of its market valuation, and shaving an estimated $1.3 billion off the former president’s net worth within days. Trump, who owns roughly 57% of the company’s stock, briefly saw his fortune surge past $8 billion earlier in the week.
Nasdaq trading of Trump Media & Technology Group – which owns Trump social media app Truth Social, halted twice Thursday morning after plunging shortly after the start of the trading day.
Some market analysts have connected the technology stock’s performance with bets on Trump’s chances of retaking the White House on November 5, pointing to the fact that the stock’s performance has correlated with bookmakers’ odds on the election, plus the businessman’s rallies (including a blowout Madison Square Garden event in New York City which briefly added over 20% to its valuation).
Thursday was not the first time this week that trades in the Trump stock were throttled. On Tuesday, Nasdaq halted trading five times a series of rapid surges and drops.
Citing the fact that Truth Social remains largely a niche social media platform, with annual revenues in the millions of dollars, analysts have characterized Trump Media as a meme stock – i.e. a stock which gains or loses value not based on a company’s so-called market fundamentals, but its viral popularity.
Just a few trading days are left before Election Day November 5, with traders bracing for market volatility in response to whoever wins next Tuesday. Polling aggregator RealClearPolitics gives Trump a slight lead nationally well within the margin of error, with the former president leading in battleground states including Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, and Nevada, but trailing Kamala Harris in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico and Virginia.