Trump Media and Technology Group, the company affiliated with former U.S. president Donald Trump that operates Truth Social, reported $770,500 in revenue for the first quarter of 2024 and a net loss of $327.6 million.
Shares in Sarasota, Fla.-based TMTG — which says it is a “safe harbor for free expression amid increasingly harsh censorship by Big Tech corporations”— began trading on Nasdaq March 26, 2024, following its merger with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC).
Trump owns about 65% of the outstanding shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, which trade under the ticker “DJT.”
In Q1, the company recorded $311 million in non-cash expenses arising from the conversion of promissory notes, and the associated elimination of prior liabilities, immediately before the closing of TMTG’s merger with DWAC. The company had a first-quarter operating loss of $12.1 million based on adjusted EBITDA calculations; approximately half of that amount — $6.3 million — consisted of one-time payments related to the closing of TMTG’s merger with DWAC.
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“At this early stage in the Company’s development, TMTG remains focused on long-term product development, rather than quarterly revenue,” the company said in announcing first-quarter 2024 results. “By adding features to Truth Social, launching live TV streaming, and building out its ecosystem, the Company aims to first develop a slate of best-in-class products that can then be leveraged to increase revenue and drive long-term value.”
TMTG said the its “nascent advertising initiative” will “continue to evolve as TMTG implements its vision.”
The company plans to launch a new “live TV streaming platform” for Truth Social’s app for Android, iOS, and web. In a second phase, it said, it will release “stand-alone Truth Social over-the-top (‘OTT’) streaming apps for phones, tablets and other devices,” followed by Truth Social streaming apps “for home TV.”
As of March 31, TMTG said, its balance of cash and cash equivalents was $273.7 million. The company “believes it has sufficient working capital to fund operations for the foreseeable future,” it said in announcing the Q1 results.
TMTG’s quarterly report and financials were reviewed by Semple, Marchal & Cooper, which the company appointed as its independent registered public accounting firm as of May 4, 2024. That came after the SEC accused its previous auditor, BF Borgers, of “massive fraud” in preparing more than 1,500 regulatory filings for public companies.
The company said that based on data provided to TMTG, as of April 29, 2024, the company’s stock was held by more than 621,000 shareholders, “the vast majority of whom are retail investors.”
TMTG launched Truth Social in early 2022; the company has not disclosed how many people use the service. Trump Media & Technology Group was formed in 2021 after the former president was kicked off Twitter(now called X), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other internet platforms, which said he had violated prohibitions against inciting violence in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which aimed to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump’s accounts have been reinstated by X, meta’s Facebook and Instagram, YouTube and others, but he continues to use Truth Social as his preferred social media platform.
