Trump's media company valued at $8 bln on debut

STORY: Donald Trump’s media company enjoyed a stellar stock market debut on Tuesday.

Shares in Trump Media & Technology Group soared as much as 59% in New York trade.

By day’s end, the firm behind the Truth Social network was valued at close to $8 billion.

Analysts say that’s an extraordinary number for a company that reported barely more than $3 million in revenue over the first nine months of last year.

Though Wealth Alliance President Eric Diton says it looks like a classic meme stock, driven more by enthusiastic retail investors rather than any financial fundamentals:

“Roughly half the country is supporting Donald Trump, and he’s got some financial difficulties, and I think there’s a lot of people out there saying ‘I’m gonna buy this stock just to help the Donald’. And they’re doing it. Now, would I touch this stock personally? No.”

The debut may be a timely boost for Trump.

He’s been struggling to raise money for his campaign and legal expenses, as he faces four criminal cases.

Now his stake in TMTG is worth around $6 billion, though lock-up rules bar him from selling the stock, or borrowing against it, for six months.

As for Truth Social, it gets a $300 million cash injection as part of the deal.

But Vespula Capital founder Jeff Tomasulo says it remains hard to justify the lofty valuation put on its parent firm:

“No, the stock is probably worth... if you really... probably a $3, $4 stock, but it's trading at 70 bucks or $69. But when you look at it from a fundamental perspective, you know you're looking at a $3 stock.”

Recent figures show Truth Social had fewer than 9 million users signed up - a tiny fraction of the number on X.

That may not matter much for TMTG stock, if it’s really just a way to bet on Donald Trump’s future success.