Dear Commons Community,
Barry Diller, Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founder of the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting, wasn’t optimistic about Trump Media stock’s future when asked about it during a recent interview — and doesn’t get why people were so excited about it in the first place.
“Why are you even talking about this? It’s a scam,” Diller said in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday.
TMTG’s total revenue in 2023 was just $4.1 million, according to an SEC filing on Monday — while losing $58 million. Those numbers, Diller suggested, should not indicate “buy” to any reasonable investor.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “The company has no revenue.”
Questioning how anyone could see Trump Media as a valuable company, Diller concluded that its shareholders must not have financial soundness in mind when purchasing the stock. “They’re buying it for other reasons,” he said, calling them “dopes.”
Diller said the platform offers little opportunity for future growth.
“Why would it be bigger?” he asked, adding that Donald Trump — a major part of the platform’s appeal — is “only interesting now” because he’s “out there entertaining the folks” on the campaign trail.
Trump Media shared surged to as high as $79.38 on March 26, the day trading began on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “DJT.”
Since then, the Truth Social owner’s share price has plunged by 49% to the closing price of $40.49 yesterday.
TMTG did not return a request for comment before publication.
Meanwhile, short-sellers are already betting millions against the company, The New York Times reported, citing data from S3 Partners.
Trump could also find it difficult to materially benefit from Trump Media in the short-term, since he is prevented from selling his shares for another six months as part of a “lock up” period — unless the company’s board allows otherwise.
Diller knows what he is talking about!
Tony
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