Trump Media and Technology Group reports first-quarter net loss of more than $300 million

SARASOTA, Fla. — Trump Media and Technology Group, the owner of former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social social networking site, lost more than $300 million last quarter, according to the first earnings report of a publicly traded company.

For the three-month period ended March 31, the company reported a loss of $327.6 million, which it said included $311 million in non-cash expenses related to its merger with a company called Digital World Acquisition Corp., which was essentially a pile of cash in search of a target, with which you can connect. This is an example of a so-called special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, which can provide young companies with a faster and easier route to publicly trading their shares.

A year earlier, Trump Media reported a loss of $210,300.

Trump Media said it had revenue of $770,500 in the first quarter, largely driven by a “nascent advertising initiative.” That’s down from $1.1 million a year earlier.

“At this early stage of the company’s development, TMTG remains focused on long-term product development rather than quarterly revenues,” Trump Media said in its earnings press release.

Earlier this month, the company fired an auditor whom federal regulators recently accused of “massive fraud.” On May 3, the former president’s media company fired BF Borgers as its independent public accounting firm, delaying the filing of its quarterly earnings report, securities filings show.

Trump Media previously reviewed at least two other auditors – one who resigned in July 2023 and another who was fired from the board in March when BF Borgers was rehired.

Shares of Trump Media rose 36 cents to $48.74 in after-hours trading. The stock, trading under the symbol “DJT,” began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in March and reached a peak price of almost $80 in late March.