Trump media is “a scam” and people who buy its high-flying stocks are “idiots.” IAC and Expedia Chief Executive Barry Diller said Thursday in a scathing exchange against the social media company, whose majority shareholder is former President Donald Trump.
“I mean, it’s ridiculous,” Diller said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” when asked about Trump Media. “The company has no income.”
“It’s a fraud, just like everything he’s ever been involved in is some kind of fraud,” he said of Trump.
A spokeswoman for Trump Media responded to Diller’s comments: “It’s not surprising that die-hard Trump haters and left-wing cretins are reeling now that Truth Social has become a publicly traded company that to this day refuses to stifle political speech .” contradicts the narratives they want to push.”
CNBC has reached out to a spokesman for Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, for comment.
When Trump Media began trading last week under the ticker symbol DJT, its stock price shot up about 50% to nearly $80 before leveling off. On Thursday morning, shares of Trump Media were selling for nearly $47.
That gives the company a whopping $6.4 billion market cap, despite only having $4.1 million in revenue last year, and its business is focused on the Truth Social app, which has significantly fewer users than the major social media platforms.
Trump Media reported Monday that it had a net loss of $58 million in 2023.
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He compared Trump Media’s share price rise to the “meme stock” frenzy in 2021, when the price of GameStop rose to nearly $500 per share and AMC Entertainmenta movie theater company, saw its stock price skyrocket to over $700.
GameStop shares sold for less than $12 a share in early trading Thursday morning, while AMC shares sold for just over $3.
“I think they’re idiots,” Diller said when asked why people were buying the company’s stock.
“I mean, who would buy a company that literally has $30 in revenue? Who could value that?” Diller asked.
“They’re buying it for different reasons, just like they bought movie theaters when there wasn’t a theater store, or GameStop, whatever.”
“It’s stupid. Stupid stuff,” he said.
Asked whether Trump Media could ever become a bigger company than it is now, especially if Trump is elected president later this year, Diller answered flatly: “No…no.”
“Look, he’s only interesting now because he’s out there entertaining people,” Diller said. “I hope if he gets elected he just plays golf for four years.”
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2024-04-04 16:32:12
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