Newsmax stock surges after its IPO

Loyal Newsmax viewers who listened to the channel’s entreaties last year and lined up to buy $10-per-share stakes in the company are feeling pretty rich right about now. Those shares are currently worth more than $130 each.

Loyal Newsmax viewers who listened to the channel’s entreaties last year and lined up to buy $10-per-share stakes in the company are feeling pretty rich right about now. Those shares are currently worth more than $130 each. This week’s IPO has been a monumental success for the pro-Trump talk and news channel, which has long been an also-ran in a sector dominated by Fox News. Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, who is now a billionaire on paper thanks to the stock’s explosive performance, told CNN, “Last election Americans voted against the media establishment and similarly investors voted by enormously buying Newsmax stock to say they like us, they value us and they want us to grow.” Newsmax suddenly has a lot of capital to expand. But the market’s overexuberance has some media outlets calling it a “meme stock.” And investors have plenty of reason to exercise caution. The cable news landscape doesn’t exactly scream “growth.” Newsmax’s financials are dreadful. And the company faces a big legal challenge around the corner. Newsmax was motivated to raise money through an IPO partly due to the defamation lawsuits against the channel stemming from the 2020 election.