There’s good news and bad news when it comes to Truth Social (NASDAQ:DJT), the social media operation with a former president, Donald Trump, as its primary shareholder. And considering the sheer amount of volatility we’ve seen in this stock for the last few months, it’s easy to wonder if it can ever break out and become a worthwhile investment. The good news here is that it can, but the bad news is that it will take a pretty specific set of conditions to do so, and even then, it still may not.
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The Good News
The good news about Truth Social is that it’s an attention-grabber. Though not everyone agrees about whether or not it’s a good investment, or if it even can be, it’s actually kind of tough to find someone who doesn’t know about it or have an opinion about it, or at least about its primary shareholder. Much like Trump himself, Truth Social is a polarizing operation that’s either good or bad with very little indifference.
Better yet, Truth Social is starting to draw a lot more interest than it had. Back in February, Truth Social had about five million visits to the site. In March, however, that number shot up to 7.74 million viewers before dropping back down to 6.5 million in April. It’s a good trend, but it also has the potential to turn into…
The Bad News
Yeah, that. The bad news. Truth Social’s biggest problem is that it isn’t particularly compelling. Where competitors like Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and X, formerly Twitter, have been operating for years, even decades, and work to bring out new and exciting material, Truth Social is still basically just people posting links to other things and original short content. Note how that gain in viewership turned into a loss in the space of just two months. While some of the gains proved sticky, that was far from the case in every setting.
The biggest reason is that there’s not much happening on the platform. Celebrities aren’t talking about what they ate for lunch or what they’re wearing on there, and your favorite YouTuber probably isn’t there. So there’s not a whole lot of reason for those viewers to return. However, that’s one point that might be settled in…
The Path to Victory
How does Truth Social manage to make itself a good investment? Simple; it needs to keep the attention it draws. It’s already working on that; reports suggest that Truth Social is looking to add a YouTube-style component, offering access to streaming video. Particularly “news networks, religious channels, family-friendly content including films and documentaries, and other content that has been cancelled, is at risk of cancellation, or is being suppressed on other platforms and services.”
Given the sheer amount of content out there that simply can’t be found or streamed online for one reason or another, this is Truth Social’s biggest opportunity to be a recurring traffic juggernaut: old TV. Don’t be afraid to get obscure, either; go after content that can’t be found. Introduce the old stuff to whole new generations who have never even heard of it, like “The Adventures of the Sea Hawk,” which ran for one season in 1958.
Consider extending offers to shows that ended on cliffhangers like “My Name is Earl,” among a host of others. Allow shows to properly finish. That could be worth its weight in viewers. With the massive losses Truth Social incurred in the last quarter—at last report, $328 million worth of losses—it’s clear something needs to be done to get cash coming in and give investors a reason to stick around.
The key point here is to give people a reason to come back. Video streaming’s growing popularity is a great way to do this. Once people have a reason, they’ll exercise it, and suddenly, Truth Social is a force to be reckoned with in social media.
Is DJT Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, no analysts are covering DJT stock as yet. Therefore, we look to the last five days of trading. DJT stock is up 6.9% during this time frame, with a sudden sharp rise on May 22 fueling the overall gains. Two reversals emerged in the period, but were quickly erased by subsequent rallies.
