Trump Media and Technology Group, the company that owns former President Donald Trump’s social networking site Truth Social, has announced a loss of over $300 million in its first quarter as a publicly traded company. This loss was significantly higher than the $210,300 reported a year earlier, despite generating $770,500 in revenue during the first quarter.
The company attributed this increase in expenses to its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp, which is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). However, it emphasized that their focus is on long-term product development rather than short-term revenue generation at this early stage in the company’s development.
In recent news, Trump Media fired its auditor following fraud charges from federal regulators. The company dismissed BF Borgers as its independent public accounting firm on May 3rd, leading to a delay in filing the quarterly earnings report. This is not the first time that Trump Media has gone through multiple auditors; one resigned in July 2023 and another was terminated by the board before being re-hired.
Despite these financial challenges and regulatory issues, shares of Trump Media rose 36 cents to $48.74 in after-hours trading. The stock began trading in March and reached a peak of nearly $80 in late March. Despite the financial challenges, the company continues to work on its product development and advertising initiatives for Truth Social.