Trump Media shares rise 16% as Trump wins presidential election

Shares of former President Donald Trump's media company rose in early trading as NBC News results predicted a victory in the contentious presidential election.

Trump Media & Technology Group were last up about 16% shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street, paring gains from the premarket session that pushed shares up about 50% and above $51 per share.

The stock continued its run overnight as Trump gained a solid lead in the Electoral College and narrowed the path to victory for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trading was paused several times on Wednesday morning due to volatility.

The stock, seen as a market proxy for the former president, rallied despite a surprise earnings release 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.

Stocks have been volatile during the election season, rising and falling as Trump's fortunes fluctuated during his neck-and-neck race with Harris.

Shares fell more than 34% in the last five trading sessions as Harris appeared to gain momentum in the final days of the race. However, the stock, whose ticker symbol is DJT after the Republican's initials, is up more than 105% in the last month.

In Tuesday's session, as the candidates made their final push, the stock rose more than 18% to its session high but closed down 1.2%.

In the earnings release, the company reported revenue of just over $1 million.

“This was an exceptional 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 expression online,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement Explanation.

Nunes is a former congressman from California.

Of course, the stock isn't necessarily a perfect indicator of whether Trump wins. The stock could be influenced by other factors such as profit-taking, as it has already posted strong gains this year.