Trump Media share price soars after assassination attempt

The share price of Donald Trump’s social media business has jumped after the former president survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.

The stock price of Trump Media, which runs the 78-year-old's Truth Social platform, has increased by more than 20% since a gunman tried to assassinate Trump while he was addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The jump reflects a sense that the shooting has increased Trump's odds of winning the US presidential election in November.

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One man at the US rally was killed and two other men seriously injured. It was the most serious attempt on a president or presidential candidate's life since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.

The suspect has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park in Pennsylvania. He was killed by security services.

"Investors are becoming more confident of a Trump victory, and it is starting to be more heavily reflected in certain sectors," Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, told Reuters. 

Trump Media was founded in 2021 after Trump lost the presidential election and was temporarily ousted from prominent social media platforms, including what was then called Twitter, after being accused of inciting violence.

A year later Trump Media launched the social media platform Truth Social, which is almost identical to X in terms of functionality. Users are able to post 'truths' or 'retruths' and send direct messages. Adverts, meanwhile, are called 'sponsored truths'.

Trump Media likened to Gamestop 

Trump Media has been likened to meme stocks, such as GameStop and AMC, which have seen share prices jump based on sentiment rather than hard metrics, such as revenue, cash flow or profits.

Trump Media lost nearly $60m in 2023, while bringing in only about $4m in revenue from advertising, according to a financial update. It reported revenue of $770,500 in the first quarter of 2024, and a net loss of $327.6 million.

The share price of Trump Media rose as high as $46 on Monday but fell back to around $37 on Tuesday. At the close of trading on Friday, however, before the assassination attempt took place, the company’s share price was $31.25.

Trump owns about 57% of shares in Trump Media, which is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange and trades under the DJT ticker - Trump's initials.

Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla also rose sharply on Monday after its billionaire founder Elon Musk publicly endorsed Trump following the shooting. The share price later fell back to around $250 on Tuesday.