Shares in former President Donald Trump‘s media company pushed higher in early trading as voting results in the contentious election showed him closing in on the presidency.
Trump Media & Technology Group surged about 50% to above $51 a share in premarket trading.
The stock extended its run overnight as Trump gained a solid Electoral College lead, narrowing the path to victory for Vice President Kamala Harris. NBC projects Trump won key swing states North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania. (Follow CNBC’s latest election coverage here.)
The stock, seen as a market proxy for the former president’s prospects as he seeks a second term in office, rallied despite a surprise earnings statement after the bell that showed the company lost $19.2 million in the third quarter. The operator of Truth Social is majority owned by Trump.
Shares have been volatile during the election season, rising and falling as Trump’s fortunes swirled during his neck-and-neck race with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The shares were down more than 34% over the past five trading sessions as Harris seemingly picked up momentum in the race’s final days. However, the stock, with ticker DJT after the Republican’s initials, has soared more than 105% over the past month.
In Tuesday’s session, as the candidates made their closing push, the stock burst more than 18% at its session high, only to close down 1.2%.
In the earnings release, the company reported revenue of just over $1 million.
“This has been an extraordinary quarter for the Company, for Truth Social users, and for our legion of retail investors who support our mission to serve as a beachhead for free speech on the Internet,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement.
Nunes is a former congressman from California.
To be sure, the stock is not necessarily a perfect play on whether Trump wins. The stock could be influenced by other factors such as profit-taking, given its hefty gains already this year.