PublicSquare, an online marketplace targeting conservative consumers, is facing delisting by the New York Stock Exchange due to significant financial struggles. The company's stock has plummeted 99% from its 2023 listing price. Cumulative losses reached approximately $160 million from its listing through late July of the current year.
Analysts attribute PublicSquare's decline partly to substantial consulting fees paid to allies of President Trump, including Donald Trump Jr. In 2024, the company's general and administrative expenses were about $43.3 million, almost double its total revenue for that year. In 2025, Donald Trump Jr. alone received over $500,000 in consulting fees, exceeding the $300,000 annual salary of then-Chief Executive Mike Seifert. Trump Jr.'s board attendance rate was reportedly only about 60% in the last year.
Other Trump allies also received significant payments; companies run by Nick Ayers and Omeed Malik were paid $650,000 and $400,000 respectively for consulting services. The company has since abandoned its original marketplace business model, selling off a diaper brand and canceling a TV program, to pivot towards becoming a fintech company offering credit services, including buy-now-pay-later financing for gun purchases.
PublicSquare aims to create a financial infrastructure for a "parallel economy." The company acquired the buy-now-pay-later firm Credova in March 2024. While the company recorded $6.7 million in net revenue for the first quarter of 2025, a 95% increase year-over-year, only $400,000 came from the marketplace, with fintech and a diaper brand contributing almost equally to the rest. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently dropped an investigation into Credova, citing political bias in the inquiry.
Despite the significant stock drop and acknowledged material weaknesses in financial reporting, the company's leadership remains optimistic, believing PublicSquare will become the primary marketplace and payments ecosystem for American commerce.
