For the first time in almost 30 years, part of Donald Trump’s business empire has gone public. Trading started with a bang.

Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of struggling social media platform Truth Social, is began its long-delayed journey as a public company at Tuesday’s opening bell under the ticker symbol “DJT.”

The stock surged about 56% at the open, to $78, and trading was briefly halted for volatility. Trump Media shares have since stabilized at around $70, marking a 40% increase from Monday’s close.

Wall Street is assigning Trump Media an eye-popping valuation of around $13 billion — a price tag that experts warn is untethered to reality.

The skyrocketing share price comes despite the fact that Trump Media is burning through cash; piling up losses; and its main product, Truth Social, is losing users.

“This is a very unusual situation. The stock is pretty much divorced from fundamentals,” said Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, who has been studying initial public offerings (IPOs) for over 40 years.

  • RobertoOberto@sh.itjust.works
    13·
    8 months ago

    I don’t think “con job” is the whole story here. There’s always money to be made when morons gather together and soulless hedge fund managers don’t care about the side effects. What better place could there be to sell advertising space for testosterone supplements and nuclear fallout shelters?

    Not to mention all the free advertising for it from both social and mainstream media.

    • hamid@lemmy.world
      5·
      8 months ago

      Con job is the name for what you described. It is short hand for confidence game and literally means “A confidence game, also known as a con, scam, grift, or flim flam, is an attempt to win the trust and confidence of a victim, known as the “mark,” in order to defraud them.”

      Those soulless hedge fund managers and conning the investors and Trumpers to make money.

    • kent_eh@lemmy.caEnglish
      3·
      8 months ago

      There’s always money to be made when morons gather together

      Hence Trump selling ugly sneakers and “presidentially endorsed” bibles…