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Legal Fees

Trump Media may generate more revenue for lawyers than itself

No matter how Trump Media’s stock moves, lawyers are going to get paid

4/4/24 3:42PM

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) may not be generating much revenue for itself (under $1M last quarter), but it certainly is generating attorney fees as seemingly everyone involved with the company is suing each other. Additionally, two TMTG investors just pleaded guilty to securities fraud. A recap of the legal proceedings surrounding the hottest new meme stock:

In 2021, days after President Trump left the White House, Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, two former contestants on Donald Trump’s reality TV show, The Apprentice, pitched the former president on the idea of building a conservative media network. The parties agreed that a SPAC merger could provide the funding needed to scale the company, and in November, TMTG announced that it was going public through a reverse merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp, a roughly $300 million SPAC led by CEO and Chairman Patrick Orlando.

On February 28, 2024, United Atlantic Ventures, a partnership between Litinsky and Moss, sued to block TMTG’s merger with DWAC, claiming that Trump was attempting to dilute them from an 8.6% stake in the company to less than 1%.

One day later, ARC Global Investments II, which is controlled by Patrick Orlando, sued to block the merger until Orlando received a larger payout. Orlando was fired by the firm in March 2023, as DWAC’s board cited “unprecedented headwinds” necessitated a leadership change.

On March 20, 2024, Digital World Acquisition Corp sued ARC to force Orlando, still the largest shareholder of DWAC, to vote to approve the merger.

Trump countersued Litinsky and Moss in a separate Florida lawsuit on March 24, claiming they failed to set up a proper corporate governance structure or find an appropriate merger partner, therefore they don’t deserve their 8.6%, $606 million stake.

Oh, and if these weren’t enough legal issues to keep track of, in unrelated, non-lawsuit matters, Michael Shvartsman, head of Miami-based venture capital firm Rocket One Capital, and his brother Gerald Shvartsman pleaded guilty to insider trading involving DWAC. In June 2021, before DWAC IPO’d, they were approached about becoming early investors in the SPAC. Upon learning that DWAC would likely be taking Trump Media public, they acquired shares in the SPAC, selling them upon merger news for a $22 million profit. Rocket One’s CIO, Bruce Garelick, is scheduled to face trial on related charges on April 29th.

TL;DR:

Trump Media’s co-founders sued Trump for attempting to dilute their shares
Trump countersued, claiming they don’t deserve their shares
DWAC’s former CEO sued the SPAC for more compensation
DWAC sued its former CEO to force him to vote to approve the merger deal
Two investors (so far) have pleaded guilty to securities fraud for insider trading tied to DWAC; another exec will face trial soon

So regardless of how the stock moves, the biggest winners of $DJT might just be the attorneys involved on both sides.

Tom Jones6/24/26

Prime Day is here again and Amazon’s subscription service has never been more popular

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together the money they’ve saved to pick out a perfect gift, some are presumably leaving out refreshments for the weary delivery drivers and, more and more, drones.

It’s Amazon Prime Day — meaning that it’s the second day of the four-day promotional event that Amazon still calls Prime Day — of course, and it’s even come early this year, with the company bringing the period into late June from July, when it’s been traditionally held for the last five years.

The Prime Age

Alongside the eyes and endless clicks that the arbitrary stream of listicles on “The Best Prime Day Deals” that almost every media outlet pours into, Amazon will also be cheering the fact that there’s now more Prime users than ever before to devour the retailer and its sellers’ sometimes-contested “discounts.” Indeed, according to the latest annual estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there were just over 200 million American shoppers using Amazon’s massive subscription service at the end of 2025.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”