3,700 Trades, Half a Billion USD: Inside Trump's Q1 Stock Spree

On Thursday, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics published two OGE Form 278-T reports disclosing a torrent of financial activity tied to President Donald Trump's personal investment portfolio during the first quarter of 2026. The sheer volume, more than 3,600 transactions in just ninety days, marks a striking departure from Trump's first year of his second term, when he largely avoided individual stocks in favor of bonds and index funds.

The disclosures, as required by law, report transactions in wide dollar bands rather than exact figures, as is the norm for congressional reporting. But even at the low end, the cumulative value of the trades runs to at least $220 million; midpoints of each band put the figure closer to $475 million, with an upper bound approaching $750 million.

No charges have been filed, and no proven wrongdoing has been established. The White House told reporters that Trump's assets are held in a trust managed by his children, and that "there are no conflicts of interest." The Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment.

A Pivot to Big Tech

Among the most notable features of the disclosures is the composition of the portfolio. After buying more than $51 million in bonds during early 2025, Trump shifted decisively into individual equities this year. The purchases read like a who's-who of the S&P 500's technology heavyweights: Nvidia ($1.8M-$6.6M), Microsoft ($2.4M-$8.1M), Amazon ($2.5M-$8.3M), Oracle ($2.2M-$10.6M), Broadcom ($1M-$5M), Apple ($2.1M-$7.2M), and AMD ($635K-$1.4M), alongside positions in Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.

Alongside those purchases, Trump sold between $5 million and $25 million worth of Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta securities on a single day, February 10, in what the filings describe as his four largest sales of the quarter. Dozens of other transactions took place the same day, suggesting a broad portfolio rebalancing rather than isolated bets.

The Timing Question

What has drawn the most scrutiny from ethics watchdogs and lawmakers is not the volume of trades but when they occurred. There were several instances in which Trump's purchases appeared to precede favorable regulatory actions benefiting the same companies.

Nvidia: Trump bought $1M-$5M in Nvidia stock on February 10. One week later, Nvidia announced a major chip-supply deal with Meta. In a separate earlier transaction, Trump had purchased $500K–$1M in Nvidia on January 6, a week before the Commerce Department officially acted on export licensing.

AMD: Trump purchased roughly $740,000 in AMD stock last quarter, including a $50K-$100K buy on January 6. AMD was subsequently authorized by the Department of Commerce to sell its chips to Chinese customers on January 13.

Oracle: Trump purchased millions in Oracle stock in early 2026 around the same time his administration was helping the company secure a deal to continue operating TikTok in the United States.

Under current law, presidents are not prohibited from trading stocks, they are required only to disclose transactions above $1,000 through OGE filings. Critically, the filings do not specify who directed the trades, nor do they require disclosure of exact execution prices, timing within the day, or profit-and-loss figures, making it difficult for outside observers to reconstruct a full picture of returns.

Late Filing Draws Additional Criticism

Compounding the controversy, reporting by The Washington Post found that Trump missed the legally required deadline to disclose tens of millions of dollars in stock trades. Federal rules generally require officials to disclose qualifying transactions within 30 to 45 days.