Trump Media Plans a Stock Buyback. It's Still Going to Buy Bitcoin. — Barrons.com

By Mackenzie Tatananni

Trump Media and Technology Group said its board had approved a buyback of up to $400 million of the company's common stock, weeks after vowing to sell millions of dollars worth of shares in pursuit of its Bitcoin treasury aspirations.

The repurchase program, comprising either stocks or warrants, will be carried out through open market transactions, with repurchased shares to be retired by the company, Trump Media Group said on Monday.

At first glance, the program may appear to be the opposite of what the company said it would be doing. The Truth Social parent has committed to buying up Bitcoin, similar to MicroStrategy. At the end of May, the company announced a private placement offering of stock and debt worth roughly $2.5 billion to fund future purchases of cryptocurrency.

The company said Monday that it "now has approximately $3 billion on its balance sheet," giving it the flexibility to take actions that support "strong shareholder returns."

Shares of Trump Media, which is majority-owned by the president, have been battered by the spat between Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, shares have cratered 53%.

The stock rose 3.3% to $18.43 on Monday. The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.2% and flat, respectively.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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