Trump Hush Money Trail: Shares Of Trump Media Group Plunge, Following His Conviction

Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) fell by 6.5% on Thursday after former US President Donald Trump was convicted in a hush money case. Trump, who holds a majority stake in TMTG, operates the social media platform Truth Social through the company.

A New York jury convicted Trump for falsifying documents to conceal a payment made to silence an adult film star. Following this news, TMTG’s shares traded at $48.44 apiece on the Nasdaq after the closing bell. The stock had closed at $51.12 during regular trading hours on Thursday, May 30, with a valuation of $9 billion.

The conviction came after two days of deliberation by a jury of 12 judges, who found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Judge Juan Merchan is set to sentence the former President on July 11, just days before the Republican Party’s scheduled nomination of Trump as its Presidential candidate.

According to a Reuters report, Trump could face a maximum sentence of four years for the crime. The trial included explicit testimony from adult film star Stormy Daniels about her sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Additionally, Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, testified that Trump approved the $130,000 hush money payment and planned to reimburse Cohen through monthly payments falsely accounted as legal expenses.

This conviction is one of four criminal trials Trump faces. He is also accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election in two separate cases and mishandling classified national security documents in another trial, as reported by AFP.

TMTG’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) in March saw significant demand, with the stock surging 59% on its Nasdaq debut. However, the shares of Trump Media have been highly volatile, with a trading range between $12.40 and $79.38. In May, the company posted its first financial results, reporting a loss of over $327 million for the first quarter of FY24 and a negative adjusted EBITDA exceeding $12.11 million.