Trump Media triumphs: TMTG overtakes Elon Musk's X Holdings

Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, is reaching new heights, surpassing Musk's X Holdings. The valuation of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) now exceeds ten billion dollars, after its stock value has more than quadrupled since the end of September. In comparison, Musk's X Holdings, formerly Twitter, is currently valued at around 9.4 billion dollars, according to the latest assessment by Fidelity. A closer look at the movement of TMTG shares shows that they are more closely linked to the prospects of Trump's re-election than to the company's own economic outlook. This aligns with the recent price increase of over 12 percent to 53.30 dollars on Tuesday, following a 21.6 percent rise the previous Monday. Such rapid price movements even led to several brief trading halts in the morning. At the end of last month, the stock had fallen to about 12 dollars. The origin story of TMTG is closely tied to Trump's exclusion from Twitter and Facebook after the incidents on January 6, 2021. Although Trump owns about 57 percent of the company, he does not play an active role in the operational business. Despite recent successes, TMTG continues to record losses: in the quarter ending in June alone, the company incurred a loss of over 16 million dollars with revenues of only 837,000 dollars. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter in October 2022, the company's value has significantly decreased—from a previous 44 billion dollars to now an estimated 4.2 billion dollars by Fidelity. Surprisingly to many, TMTG is now larger than companies such as Caesars Entertainment and Walgreens Boots Alliance. Interestingly, Musk is now among the prominent supporters of Trump. With over 70 million dollars, the billionaire supports Trump's election campaign and regularly organizes events in favor of the former president.