By Alexandra Ulmer
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, California (Reuters) -Donald Trump is not selling any of his majority stake in the company that owns Truth Social, and he will not leave the social media platform he created, the Republican U.S. presidential candidate told reporters on Friday.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group surged as much as 30% following his comments and were last up 11%.
Trump owns about 57% of Trump Media, which saw its shares slump this week following his televised debate with Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris.
Friday's leap in the stock follows weeks of steady declines ahead of key dates this month when Trump and other company insiders will be allowed to sell their shares.
"No, I’m not selling," the former president said in answer to a question asked by Reuters. "I’m not leaving. I love it. I think it’s great."
Trump Media saw its value balloon to nearly $10 billion following its stock market listing in March. Trump Media's stock is popular among retail traders and is seen as a speculative bet on his chances of securing a second four-year term as president.
However, since its listing, Trump Media shares have lost most of their value, with losses accelerating in recent weeks after President Joe Biden gave up his reelection bid and Trump lost a hefty lead in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
According to provisions related to Trump Media's listing, Trump and other insiders will be allowed to sell stock beginning later this month, potentially flooding the market with additional shares.
If the stock price remains at or above $12 for any 20 trading days commencing Aug. 22, then Trump will be free to sell shares beginning on Sept. 20. Otherwise, he is eligible to sell shares beginning on Sept. 26.
The stock was last at $17.89 on Friday following Trump's comments, making his stake worth about $2 billion. Forbes values Trump's wealth at $3.7 billion.
Trump Media's revenue is equivalent to two Starbucks coffee shops, and strategists say its $3.6 billion stock market value is detached from the fundamentals of its business. It lost $869,900 in its most recent reported quarter ended June 30.
The upcoming lock-up expiry related to Trump's shares is "something a lot of people on the street have been watching for weeks, if not since its inception now," said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, ahead of Trump's statement that he would not sell.
A New York judge earlier this month delayed Trump's sentencing in his hush money criminal case to Nov. 12, after the election, months after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision on presidential immunity, easing at least for the short term pressure over legal fees.
(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; writing by Noel Randewich; additional reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; editing by Megan Davies, David Ljunggren and Jonathan Oatis)