Trump Media faces $400 million loss amid advertising partner woes
- TMTG reported losses exceeding $400 million in 2024, with an annual revenue decline of 12% to $3.6 million.
- The decrease was attributed to changes in a revenue-sharing agreement and legal fees related to merger proceedings.
- These financial challenges highlight the difficulties faced by Trump Media while attempting to expand its influence and retain shareholder confidence.
In 2024, Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which operates the social media platform Truth Social, reported significant financial losses amounting to over $400 million. This staggering financial setback was primarily attributed to a 12 percent drop in annual revenue, falling to $3.6 million compared to $4.1 million in the previous year. The company cited a shift in a revenue-sharing agreement with one of its advertising partners as a contributing factor. This change was meant to improve TMTG's pre-merger financial standing but ultimately led to decreased revenue. Moreover, the year included legal obstacles linked to a merger and legal fees arising from perceived obstruction by the Biden administration's Securities and Exchange Commission. TMTG claimed that its revenue performance varied due to ongoing experimental advertising initiatives on Truth Social. In contrast to traditional social media platforms, TMTG reported that it does not depend on standard performance metrics such as average revenue per user or active user accounts, which could affect its strategic focus on growing its business. After Trump was banned from both Twitter and Facebook following the January 6 insurrection, TMTG launched Truth Social as a communication platform. Despite the financial issues, TMTG indicated it closed the year with a strong cash position amounting to $776.8 million, which could potentially be used for expanding its services, including Truth Social, Truth+, and a planned financial services brand named Truth.Fi. This expansion appears to align with the company's mission to challenge what it perceives as Big Tech's censorship of free speech. As of early 2025, TMTG's stock had seen a year-to-date decline of about 11 percent, signaling ongoing investor concerns over the company's financial health and future viability. With around 650,000 largely retail shareholders, TMTG aims to capitalize on its financial resources to enhance and expand its various platforms, even amidst the troubling economic performance and external challenges.