Newsmax had spent months hyping its upcoming stock IPO, and as go-time approached, it simply published press releases as “news” articles. A March 28 article stated:
Newsmax Inc. today announced the successful completion of its initial public offering under Regulation A+, raising the maximum allowed of $75 million through the sale of 7.5 million shares of Class B Common Stock at a public offering price of $10 per share.
Newsmax’s Class B Common Stock is expected to commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NMAX on Monday, March 31, 2025.
Newsmax previously completed a private Preferred Offering in February 2025, raising $225 million.
“Today marks a historic milestone for Newsmax as we transition to a publicly traded company,” Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Inc., said.
“This incredibly successful offering, combined with our previous Preferred Offering, provides us with the capital and financial freedom to accelerate our growth initiatives, expand our programming and further enhance our digital presence. We are deeply grateful to the investors in Newsmax and are excited for the journey ahead,” Ruddy said.
A March 31 press release gushed over the actual IPO launch:
Newsmax Inc.’s initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange Monday raised $7.447 billion in market capitalization, with more than six million shares trading hands and the stock closing at $83.51 a share.
On Monday Newsmax’s Class B Common Stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NMAX.” The stock was slated to open at $10 a share but opened at $14 a share.
Newsmax successfully raised $75 million in its initial public offering under Regulation A+ as well as $225 million in a private preferred offering, which closed in February.
Newsmax then started hyping everyone else talking about the IPO, even linking to other websites covering it:
- Major Media Cover Newsmax IPO
- Newsmax IPO Makes Headlines Across the Globe
- Newsmax Share Rundown for Opening Day
- Newsmax Stock Skyrockets Over 700% Following IPO—Causing Multiple Trading Halts
- Newsmax Stock Skyrockets in Roaring Market Debut
- Financial Times: Newsmax’s Rise Is Credible, Profits Could Boom
Newsmax also served up a little self-hyping as well:
- Newsmax’s CEO to CNBC: Company Poised for Growth in Cable, OTT
- Banker Elenowitz to Newsmax: ‘Never Seen Anything Like’ Newsmax’s NYSE Debut
- Newsmax CEO Ruddy to Greta: It’s Not Share Price, It’s the Company
- Newsmax CEO Rings NYSE Opening Bell
- Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy: ‘We’ve Done a Tremendous Job’
- Lewandowski to Newsmax: NMAX ‘Took Off Like a Rocket Ship’
Newsmax was a little more loath to talk about the fact that the IPO at least briefly made Ruddy a billionaire on paper, since he owns 33 percent of the company.
Unfortunately, Newsmax’s IPO debuted at the same time that President Trump decided to launch a tariff war against the rest of the world, which tanked stocks. Newsmax served up some propagandistic spin on the tariffs when they were announced, but a couple of articles on the Dow plunge itself did not mention Newsmax’s IPO. An April 4 propaganda piece hyped that Newsmax’s audience was “growing by an eye-popping 50% from last year.”
Newsmax served up more corporate rah-rah in an April 7 article by Lee Barney:
Newsmax’s stock broke records for initial public offerings in its first week of trading, becoming the first Regulation A+ offering to go directly to the NYSE’s Big Board – while captivating the markets with a dizzying valuation.
After trading began Monday just before 11 a.m. ET, Newsmax (NMAX) soon found itself with a share price of $44.30 and a market capitalization of $4.18 billion.
The New York Times marveled that Newsmax’s spectacular rise briefly put it at a richer valuation than U.S. Steel.
Driving the surge, the Times noted, is Newsmax’s “reliably conservative programming, with anchors including Greg Kelly, a former Fox News host, and Michael Savage” — and the media outlet’s airing on “most major cable and satellite providers, including DirecTV, Dish, Comcast, Charter and Verizon.”
Barney finally got around to referencing the stock market’s volatility in reference to Newsmax:
Not only did NMAX surge, but it did so as Trump unveiled his reciprocal tariffs, wiping out over $5 trillion in market value in the S&P 500 in the first two days. During its IPO debut week, Newsmax was only one of a handful of stocks in the green amid a sea of red.
After Day 2 on the NYSE, Newsmax’s market capitalization at $32 billion was higher than those of 235 companies in the S&P 500 benchmark index.
Newsmax stock fairly quickly came back to earth; less than two weeks later, it closed at $25.64, a fraction of its early heights. Ruddy is presumably no longer a billionaire.