Buy up to 25 million dollars worth of Meta, purchase SpaceX bonds before signing space policy.

Written by: Li Jia, Wall Street Journal

During his term, Trump continuously engaged in large-scale personal securities trading. The latest disclosures once again reveal a concerning overlap between his investment activities and policy actions.

On October 8, according to CNBC's analysis of Trump's financial disclosure documents from August, he conducted a total of 517 securities transactions that month, with a total buying and selling amount ranging from approximately 74.3 million to 273.3 million dollars. Although the number of transactions significantly decreased compared to June and July, the investment portfolio remained very active.

Among these, two transactions were particularly noteworthy: on August 21, Trump purchased Meta stock worth between 5 million to 25 million dollars, marking the largest single transaction of the month; on August 18, he also bought SpaceX senior unsecured notes worth between 1 million to 5 million dollars.

It is even more noteworthy that the SpaceX bond transaction occurred just two days before Trump signed a significant space policy. On August 20, Trump signed the National Space Transportation Policy, which requires the US to support over 1,000 launches and re-entry missions annually by 2030, and encourages private investment and public-private partnership in space infrastructure. As an important contractor for the US military and a major launch service provider for NASA, SpaceX is believed to potentially benefit directly from the relevant policies.

Largest Single Transaction in August: Buy up to 25 million dollars of Meta

According to CNBC's analysis, Trump conducted a total of 517 trades in August, with a total buying amount of at least 44.2 million dollars and a total selling amount of at least 30.1 million dollars.

On August 21, Trump bought Meta stock worth between 5 million to 25 million dollars, becoming the largest single transaction of the month. On the same day, he also bought shares of AT&T, ConocoPhillips, Abbott Laboratories, Netflix, and Chevron, with each transaction amounting between 1 million to 5 million dollars.

On the selling side, Trump sold AMD and Church & Dwight, each worth between 1 million to 5 million dollars, and reduced or liquidated shares of Boeing, Home Depot, T-Mobile, Datadog, Dell Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, and Nvidia, with single transaction amounts ranging from 500,000 to 1 million dollars.

Although the trading activity has decreased compared to the previous two months, the scale remains considerable. In June and July, Trump disclosed over 1,000 transactions each month, which dropped to 517 in August.

Buying SpaceX Bonds Two Days Before Signing Space Policy

Another highly notable transaction in this disclosure was Trump's investment in SpaceX debt.

On August 18, Trump's account purchased SpaceX senior unsecured notes worth between 1 million to 5 million dollars, with a coupon rate of 5.35% and a maturity date of July 2031. Two days later, on August 20, Trump signed the National Space Transportation Policy, which requires the US to support over 1,000 launches and re-entry missions annually by 2030, and instructs federal agencies to facilitate the use of launch facilities for commercial companies, encouraging private investment and public-private partnership in space infrastructure.

SpaceX is a significant contractor for the US military and a major provider of launch services for NASA, holding an important position in the commercial launch market, and is therefore regarded as a potential direct beneficiary of the relevant policies.

Trump had previously held a small amount of SpaceX stock: in June and July, he purchased shares worth between 15,000 to 50,000 dollars, and sold shares worth between 1,001 to 15,000 dollars in July. In comparison, this investment in debt worth between 1 million to 5 million dollars is significantly larger in scale.