logo
Trump-linked small stocks pull back after rallying on family ties

Trump-linked small stocks pull back after rallying on family ties

Reuters13-03-2025

March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's re-election prompted a run-up in the broad stock market that has since receded. The same has happened in a number of tiny companies linked to the president's two eldest sons.
In the last few months, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump have announced their involvement in several smaller companies ranging from the e-commerce, drone manufacturing and financial advisory industries.
The announcements sparked a frenzy of buying in those stocks - generally thinly traded names with tiny market valuations and minimal revenue - only to give back most of those gains.
Donald Jr and Eric Trump currently run the Trump Organization, the president's real estate company. Their association with smaller, publicly listed companies since the election indicates their interest in leveraging that win in the business world.
On February 24, the duo disclosed a combined 13.4% stake in biotech firm-turned-financial advisory Dominari Holdings (DOMH.O), opens new tab, which is headquartered at the Trump Tower in New York. They were appointed to Dominari's board of advisers on February 11.
Shares doubled after the announcement, but are now down about 6% since their appointment. More than 23 million shares in the stock traded a day before the announcement, LSEG data showed. By contrast, average volume in 2024 was just 13,000 shares a day, according to Reuters calculations.
The Trump Organization and Dominari Holdings did not respond to requests for comment.
Drone maker Unusual Machines (UMAC.A), opens new tab in November added Don Jr to its advisory board, who noted in a statement the need for America to "stop buying Chinese drones and parts." The company, however, said in a filing last year that it was heavily dependent on Chinese imports for products and operations.
Allan Evans, CEO of Unusual Machines, told Reuters the company was making progress on shifting its supply chain to domestic production, estimating that Chinese imports would account for less than 50% of the supply chain by year-end.
Shares jumped 260% on the news of Donald Jr's appointment, but have since fallen back. They are still up about 14% since the announcement for a market value of about $93 million.
Dominari and Unusual share another link. Dominari was an underwriter in Unusual's IPO in 2024 and was its placement agent when it raised about $2 million in October in a private fundraising. Evans said Donald Jr joined the company as an investor in that private placement. He owned 331,580 shares of Unusual as of December, according to regulatory filings.
Dominari reported revenue of $11.6 million in the first nine months of 2024, while Unusual posted about $3.6 million.
James Wood, CEO of short-selling researcher Differentiated Analytics, said the companies were benefiting from the name recognition. The firm has a short position in PSQ Holdings (PSQH.N), opens new tab, which added Donald Jr to its board of directors in December.
"The apparent purpose of these appointments is to drum up investor hype. I thus expect the bump in the share price to be ephemeral," Wood said.
Michael Seifert, CEO of PSQ, which owns online shopping website PublicSquare, said Donald Jr's appointment was not due to hype, but a natural progression in his involvement with the company since first investing in it before it went public in July 2023.
The company bills itself as "anti-woke," with a goal of connecting shoppers to brands aligned with the conservative movement, opens new tab. Upon Donald Jr's appointment, PSQ stock rose as much as 270%, but has since given back most of those gains; it is up 22% since the announcement and is worth about $87 million.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Bosnia partners with EU to strengthen border security
Bosnia partners with EU to strengthen border security

Reuters

time24 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Bosnia partners with EU to strengthen border security

SARAJEVO, June 11 (Reuters) - Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday signed an agreement with the European Union providing for technical assistance and deployment of EU guards on its borders to control and prevent illegal migration and cross-border crime. The agreement was signed in Brussels by Borjana Kristo, the chairwoman of Bosnia's Council of Ministers, and Magnus Brunner, the EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, a statement from Kristo's office said. "The signing today ... is an important step forward on the European path of Bosnia-Herzegovina which has thus fulfilled an EU condition and become a credible partner in securing the external borders of the EU," the statement said. An EU candidate country which has yet to start negotiations on the membership of the 27-member bloc, Bosnia was the only Western Balkan country besides Kosovo that had not signed an arrangement with the EU's border agency Frontex. Thousands of people from the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Africa use the so-called Balkan route, which runs via Turkey, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia, to reach wealthy Western countries. Frontex can assist EU countries by exercising powers such as border checks and registrations. The EU has said its increased cooperation on border management with the Western Balkan countries has significantly decreased illegal border crossing, with a downward trend continuing in 2025. Bosnia borders EU member Croatia, as well as Serbia and Montenegro, the countries which along with Albania and North Macedonia have signed arrangements with Frontex.

Israel's contentious military exemption for ultra-Orthodox community
Israel's contentious military exemption for ultra-Orthodox community

Reuters

time25 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Israel's contentious military exemption for ultra-Orthodox community

JERUSALEM, June 11 (Reuters) - A dispute over how many members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Haredi community should serve in the military has destabilised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition. The ultra-Orthodox have long been exempt from military service, which applies to most other young Israelis, but last year the Supreme Court ordered the defence ministry to end that practice and start conscripting seminary students. The exemption, in place for decades and which over the years has spared an increasingly large number of people, has become a heated topic in Israel with the military still embroiled in a war in Gaza and after defeating Hezbollah in Lebanon. Two religious parties in Netanyahu's coalition have demanded a new law to enshrine the status of ultra-Orthodox religious seminary students - a group that has grown significantly over the decades - threatening to vote with the opposition parties and disband parliament if they don't get their way. Here are some facts about the dispute: The exemptions offered to the ultra-Orthodox Haredi community date back to the early days of the state of Israel in 1948 when its first prime minister, the socialist David Ben-Gurion, exempted about 400 students from military service so they could devote themselves to religious study. In so doing, Ben-Gurion hoped to keep alive sacred knowledge and traditions almost wiped out in the Holocaust. Since then, the exemptions have become an increasing headache as the fast-growing community has expanded to make up more than 13% of Israel's population, a proportion expected to reach around a third within 40 years due to a high birth rate. The Haredi resistance to joining the military is based around their strong sense of religious identity, which religious leaders fear risks being weakened by army service. Some Haredi men do serve in the army but most do not, which many secular Israelis feel is deeply unfair. Living in tight-knit communities and devoting their lives to religious study, many Haredi men do not work, but live off donations, state benefits and the often paltry wages of their wives. For mainstream Israelis, whose taxes subsidise the Haredim and who are themselves obliged to serve in the military, the exemptions have long bred resentment, and this has grown since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Many Israelis regard the war against Hamas as an existential battle for the future of the country, and some 300,000 reservists joined up to fight at the start of the war, leaving their families and putting their careers on hold. Opinion polls have indicated broad public support for drafting the Haredi. Netanyahu's government includes two Haredi parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, whose spiritual leaders are demanding a special status enshrined in law for their young men. However, some inside Netanyahu's Likud party have shown unease or outright opposition to blanket exemption. The prime minister is trying to find a compromise deal on a new law that would be consistent with the Supreme Court ruling. If the deadlock persists, the Haredi parties say they will vote with the opposition to dissolve parliament.

Riyadh Air to order 25 Airbus A350 jets at air show, sources say
Riyadh Air to order 25 Airbus A350 jets at air show, sources say

Reuters

time25 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Riyadh Air to order 25 Airbus A350 jets at air show, sources say

PARIS, June 11 (Reuters) - Saudi startup Riyadh Air is set to place a firm order for 25 Airbus ( opens new tab A350-1000 jets, industry sources said. The airline, previously reported to be considering buying up to 50 jets, will finalise the order at next week's Paris Airshow, where fellow Public Investment Fund subsidiary AviLease is also seen as close to a deal for 40 Airbus planes. Both Saudi companies have also placed orders for Boeing jets. Airbus and Riyadh Air declined to comment.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store