Trump Media and Technology Group’s Bitcoin holdings were not enough to support its balance sheet, and the company suffered from rising costs and reported a $54.8 million loss in third-quarter profit.
The Trump-affiliated company, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, said Friday its third-quarter net loss widened from a $19.3 million loss in the same period last year.
The company reported sales of $972,900, down from more than $1 million a year earlier. Trump Media (DJT) shares fell 1.73% on Friday to close at $13.10, before rising modestly to $13.20 in the after-hours.
Trump Media reported that the company held 11,542 Bitcoin (BTC) as of September 30th. The company first announced in late July that it would begin purchasing Bitcoin, and stated in its financial statements that it was considering “acquisitions of other similar cryptocurrencies” as well as plans to purchase more.
Holding Bitcoin provides income
Trump Media generated $15.3 million in realized gains from its Bitcoin option investments and recorded $33 million in unrealized gains from holding over 746 million Kronos, the native token of the Kronos blockchain. At the end of September, Cronos was trading at around $0.18.
The company announced in July that it had acquired Bitcoin as part of an investment strategy that began in May, after raising $1.5 billion in stock sales and $1 billion in convertible senior notes.
“The third quarter was critical to Trump Media’s expansion plans,” Trump Media CEO and President Devin Nunes said in a statement, adding that the company “secured its financial future with significant Bitcoin treasury and expanded its existing platform.”
Trump Media to buy Cronos for up to $1 billion
In August, Trump Media entered into an agreement with virtual currency exchange Crypto.com and Yorkville Acquisition Corp. to form Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, a digital asset treasury firm focused on acquiring Cronos.
According to third-quarter results, Trump Media Group CRO Strategy is expected to purchase a total of up to $1 billion, or more than 6.3 trillion tokens, of Cronos.
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“With these financial assets now generating earnings and with two consecutive quarters of positive operating cash flow, we are poised to address our M&A strategy by looking at the assets that provide the most long-term value for our shareholders and acquiring one or more of the crown jewel assets we are currently evaluating,” Nunes said.
Stock prices are sluggish
Nunes added that the company’s financial assets have also increased from $274 million in March 2024, when it went public, to $3.1 billion as of September 30.
However, the company’s stock price has been on the decline, down 61% since the beginning of the year.
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