President Donald Trump's Trump Media sinks 25% to record low after midterms

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., the owner of Truth Social in which President Donald Trump holds a 41% stake, fell to a record low on Wednesday after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress.

The stock closed down 24.5% at $4.49 on the Nasdaq, from $5.95 on Tuesday, as the broader market rallied. It fell more than 11% to $5.23 shortly after the opening bell, breaking below the previous low of $5.40 set last week, and kept falling through the afternoon.

The drop cost Trump about $73 million in the first minutes of trading. His stake of about 114.75 million shares, held in a trust managed by his son Donald Trump Jr., was worth about $515 million at Wednesday's close, roughly $168 million less than a day earlier.

The shares had risen 5% on Tuesday, before the results came in. They are down more than 60% this year and more than 40% over the past month. Trading in put options, which pay off when a stock falls, was about 13 times the usual level ahead of the vote.

Losses and a fusion deal

Trump Media lost $238.1 million in the second quarter on revenue of $1.7 million. Most of the loss came from $190.4 million of non-cash, unrealized losses on digital assets and equity securities, and the company also booked $25.6 million in legal costs.

The company is pursuing an all-stock merger with TAE Technologies Inc., a developer of fusion energy. On Tuesday, the two companies said they had filed a second amended registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal still needs approval from shareholders and regulators. Trump Media will report third-quarter results after the market closes on Nov. 9.

The $TRUMP meme coin, another Trump family venture, also fell more than 10% over 24 hours.

Oversight ahead

Democrats have said for months that they plan to investigate the Trump family's business dealings once they control Congress. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee and expected to lead it in January, posted "LAWYER UP" on X on Tuesday night. The White House has said the president's business ventures create no conflicts of interest.

Trump said he would accept the election results and work with the new Congress. He also said Republicans lost because he was not on the ballot. "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump, 80, built his fortune in New York real estate, golf resorts and licensing deals before entering politics, and has added to it during his second term through crypto ventures and Trump Media. Forbes estimates his net worth at $6.5 billion.