Few stocks have been as volatile as Trump Media & Technology Group in recent weeks, but if shares can avoid a massive plunge for the next two trading days, Donald Trump’s personal fortune is set to leapfrog once again.
Trump stands to receive another 36 million shares of the company as long as shares stay above $17.50 through the end of trading Tuesday. (As of midmorning Monday, they stood at just under $36.)
Per the company’s SEC filings, the company can issue additional shares to those who had a pre-merger interest in Trump Media, including Trump himself, if the average price per share stays above $12.50 for at least 20 of the first 30 days it is traded. Tuesday will mark the 20th day of trading for the company and it has stayed well above that figure, even with the extreme ups and downs.
If the price stays above $17.50, which it has easily done, that would trigger an earning out of 40 million shares. Trump would be eligible to receive 90% of those—or 36 million. At current prices, that would be valued at over $1.25 billion, given today’s price.
At present, Trump would not be able to cash those shares in, due to lock-up restrictions, though the company’s board does have the power to waive those. As he is the company’s largest shareholder, though, any significant sale of shares by him could cause the company’s valuation to fall even further. (With this expected additional payout, he will own 114.75 million shares of the company, 65% of its total stock.)
Analysts are skeptical of Trump Media, saying the company is overvalued and the stock price does not accurately reflect the company’s fundamentals.
Trump Media lost $49 million in the first nine months of last year, when it brought in just $3.4 million in revenue. In the past month, the company’s market cap has fallen from $10 billion to $4.78 billion. Shares were down 4% in midmorning trading Monday.
