NMAX price: Newsmax stock pops 500% on NYSE as conservative media network IPOs in the Trump era
After debuting to the public for the first time this morning, stock for the cable news firm Newsmax shot up by over 500%.
Last Friday, Newsmax announced that it had successfully closed its initial public offering at $75 million, selling 7.5 million shares for $10 each. The stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker “NMAX” this morning.
As of midday Monday, Newsmax stock was up by 532%, and shares were trading at a whopping $63.20 apiece. The spike has been so intense that trading was halted for volatility five times in the first 30 minutes after market opening, Bloomberg reports.
Newsmax, a conservative news company with the tagline “Real News for Real People,” has built its audience through a combination of cable news shows, podcasts, and online livestreams. Its primary competitor is Fox News.
According to data from the audience measurement firm Nielsen, only three cable networks averaged more than one million viewers in primetime in 2024 (Fox, ESPN, and MSNBC) compared to 19 networks, which surpassed that viewership marker back in 2014. Newsmax did see a sizable viewership bump of 31% in 2024 compared to 2023, likely attributable to the presidential election.
As cable declines, many users are turning away from pay TV to streaming. Last July, streaming accounted for a record-breaking 41.4% of all TV usage in the U.S., according to Nielsen. Cable came in as a distant second with 26.7%, while broadcast TV accounted for 20.3%.
Newsmax’s business model may be primed for the current shift in viewing habits. In an interview with CNBC on Newsmax’s public debut this morning, Christopher Ruddy, the company’s founder and CEO, said that he believes the cable news ecosystem “is going down,” but that Newsmax’s live sports and live news will allow it to remain a vibrant business.
“I think [legacy media] is dying,” Ruddy said. “Even though we’re on a legacy platform with cable, we also have an incredible streaming channel, we have a plus service, we’re doing amazing things on podcast now. Our view at Newsmax is, don’t be legacy media where you fall in a rut; do all platforms.”