David Becker/Getty Images;Chelsea Jia Feng/BI
- Meme-stock fans have boosted Trump Media & Technology Group stock by nearly 80% this week.
- Truth Social's parent company is now valued at over $13 billion on a fully diluted basis.
- That puts it ahead of American Airlines, Ralph Lauren, Campbell Soup, and other S&P 500 companies.
Meme-stock mania has boosted the value of Trump Media & Technology Group beyond Etsy, Hasbro, and Paramount Global — three S&P 500 companies worth nearly $8 billion each.
Truth Social's parent company completed a SPAC merger on Monday, and began trading under the ticker DJT on Tuesday. Its stock price has surged nearly 80% to over $66 in the past three trading days, lifting its market capitalization to $9 billion.
TMTG's market cap is more than $13 billion using a fully diluted share count, which includes shares that could be issued if warrants are exercised or performance goals are met.
On that basis, the social-media company is worth more than Caesars Entertainment ($9.2 billion), Match Group ($9.6 billion), American Airlines ($9.8 billion), Bath & Body Works ($10.8 billion), Wynn Resorts ($11.3 billion), Ralph Lauren ($11.7 billion), and Campbell Soup ($12.9 billion), using basic market caps.
Donald Trump owns 78.75 million shares or at least 58% of TMTG, a stake worth more than $5 billion at Wednesday's close. As a result, the former president's net worth has soared by an estimated $4.7 billion this year to about $7.8 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He now ranks 328th on the rich list — above the likes of George Soros, Mark Cuban, and Giorgio Armani.
Retail investors who helped propel meme stocks such as GameStop and AMC Entertainment to ludicrous highs in 2021 have pounced on TMTG.
They pumped $6.5 million into the stock on Tuesday, which was triple the previous day's net inflow, VandaTrack reported in a note. TMTG stock was also trending ahead of Thursday's market open on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit, a hotbed for memesters.
The stock surge may have been fueled by Trump fans showing their support for the real-estate tycoon, as he seeks to reclaim the presidency while navigating a barrage of lawsuits and costly court judgments.
Speculation and fear of missing out, or FOMO, are likely drivers as well. Retail investors might be piling in to make a quick buck, have fun, and avoid regret.
It's worth underscoring how aggressive TMTG's valuation has become. Even its basic market value of $9 billion is over 2,600 times the $3.4 million in revenue it made in the first nine months of 2023. The company's net loss was $49 million in that period.
However, That's unlikely to worry buyers of meme stocks, who tend to be driven by emotion and hype and mostly ignore fundamentals.