New challenges are emerging for Donald Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee, despite a significant increase in his net worth following his company’s recent public offering.
In March, Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns the social media platform Truth Social, went public, boosting the former president’s stake in the company to an estimated $6 billion. However, this valuation contrasts sharply with the venture’s modest revenue.
Recent analytics from Similarweb have indicated potentially troubling trends for Trump’s company’s future. Reports from CNN highlight that Truth Social has experienced a 19% decline in its average daily user base compared to last year, with a 4% drop just in the last month. This decline is noteworthy as Trump remains entangled in legal proceedings related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Matthew Kennedy, a senior initial public offering strategist at Renaissance Capital, emphasized the importance of user growth for social media startups, stating, “User growth is foundational to any social media startup. It is how these companies make money: Grow users and monetize them, in that order.”
The firm had previously expressed concerns that a failure to attract a sufficient user base could significantly impact TMTG’s business prospects.
In response to the negative coverage, Trump Media spokesperson Shannon Devine criticized the media’s portrayal of the situation, asserting that Truth Social has garnered millions of users. Devine accused the media of using unreliable estimates to undermine the platform’s achievements, stating, “The politicized media cherry-pick some unreliable estimates to downplay our success.”
