Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of struggling social media platform Truth Social, is began its long-delayed journey as a public company at Tuesday’s opening bell under the ticker symbol “DJT.”

The stock surged about 56% at the open, to $78, and trading was briefly halted for volatility. Trump Media shares have since stabilized at around $70, marking a 40% increase from Monday’s close.

Wall Street is assigning Trump Media an eye-popping valuation of around $13 billion — a price tag that experts warn is untethered to reality.

The skyrocketing share price comes despite the fact that Trump Media is burning through cash; piling up losses; and its main product, Truth Social, is losing users.

“This is a very unusual situation. The stock is pretty much divorced from fundamentals,” said Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, who has been studying initial public offerings (IPOs) for over 40 years.

    • partial_accumen
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      338 months ago

      Servicing the debt on a $50k pickup on an 84 month note at 12.35% is different than owning a $50k pickup outright.

    • @acetanilide
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      148 months ago

      I know more than a few not-rich people with 50k+ pickups

      • @[email protected]
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        8 months ago

        I don’t think you drive a >50K pickup and don’t have some disposable income though.

    • edric
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      68 months ago

      That’s what they spent all their savings on.