Trump Media’s true believers bet on stock surge as presidency begins

One night in late October, Whitney Patterson spotted a YouTube video about people buying shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, the US president-elect’s social media and streaming company.

Patterson had never heard of Trump Media and had never invested in a stock on her own. But that night, Patterson, whose family owns a pickle business, moved a third of the cash in her retirement fund into Donald Trump’s company.

About a week later, she voted for him too.

Patterson said because Trump has vowed to never sell, neither will she. She believes the shares will become so valuable they will provide a legacy for the three young daughters she schools in her Pittsburgh home.

“I know how important Truth Social is going to be in my lifetime and for my girls’ future,” said Patterson, of the social-media platform owned by Trump Media. “I’m not pulling out.” She did not want to publicize the amount she invested.

Patterson, 45, is one of 600,000 retail investors whose fortunes are linked with those of the president-elect they support, and they see Monday’s inauguration as a turning point for the stock.

Trump owns a 53% stake worth $4.6 billion. Retail investors are the company’s second-biggest ownership group, owning more than a quarter of it.

Some of the 39,000-member $DJT stock group on Truth Social gathered in Washington, D.C., over the weekend to pass out company swag and then watch Trump take office for the second time on Monday.

“This is a landmark moment for Trump and for the stock,” said Patterson, who will watch from afar.

In thousands of messages on social media stock chat groups, and in more than a dozen interviews, Trump Media’s small investors professed the same never-sell approach that animated GameStop mania and the bitcoin frenzy that saw the cryptocurrency break $100,000 after the November presidential election.

“I knew nothing about the stock market but I bought mainly for my support and belief in Trump,” said George L. Paschall, 46, who works for a flooring company in Saginaw, Michigan.

Investors say they are well aware of Trump Media’s status as a meme stock, one that gains popularity through social media. But they say they are impervious to its wild price swings because they believe the company, which served as a proxy for Trump’s election odds, will become more valuable as Trump returns to the White House.

In social-media posts and interviews, they speculated that X owner Elon Musk and Trump could merge their social-media platforms. They also point to efforts by Trump Media to investigate the possibility of naked short selling before the election.

Others say they believe that by investing, they are supporting the “patriot economy.” As Trump’s presidency begins, “the momentum and support will be unstoppable,” Patterson said.

Shares closed on Friday at $40.03, up 18% since Election Day but down from their 2024 high of $79.38 in March. The stock fell last year as low as $11.75 in September.

In the weeks after Trump won the election, informal polls taken in Trump Media chat groups predicted the stock hitting $120, $1,000 or $1,776 before Inauguration Day.

The company’s $8.7-billion market cap remains detached from its business fundamentals. On election night, it reported a third-quarter net loss of $19.2 million on revenue of $1 million, with a cash balance of $672.9 million.

“DJT remains a typical meme stock with a loyal retail holder base that trades on speculation, opposed to fundamental value,” said Matthew Unterman, managing director of analytics firm S3 Partners.