Inside Donald Trump’s Market-Moving Stock Trades

A financial disclosure released by the Office of Government Ethics on May 14, 2026, reveals that President Donald Trump’s brokerage account executed 3,642 individual trades during the first three months of 2026. The report documents a trading volume between $220 million and $750 million, averaging approximately 60 trades per day.

The filing provides a detailed look at the activity within a sitting president’s public-markets portfolio, a situation that Richard Painter, a securities law professor at the University of Minnesota and former chief White House ethics counsel under George W. Bush, described as an unusual position for a president to be in.

AI Sector Reallocation

On February 10, 2026, the account made its largest move of the quarter, selling positions valued between $5 million and $25 million each in Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. These companies are categorized as AI hyperscalers central to American technological dominance.

This divestment coincided with the publication of a 5,000-word essay by AI founder Matt Shumer on February 10, 2026. Shumer argued that the technology could disrupt entire industries, including software engineering. Following this, the account purchased shares of ServiceNow, Adobe, Workday, and PTC, with most transactions falling in the $1 million-to-$5 million range.

The account also invested in AI infrastructure and hardware. This included purchases of chip providers Nvidia and Broadcom, as well as Dell, CDW, and Jabil in hardware and manufacturing, and Synopsys in chip-design software.

The timing of these trades occurred as the Trump administration managed relations with the tech sector. On February 9, 2026, the administration leaked a planned carveout exempting Microsoft, Amazon, and Google from tariffs on chips. Three weeks later, in early March 2026, the president met with executives from these companies at the White House.

Trading Around Geopolitical Events

The disclosure shows several high-value transactions that aligned with presidential announcements regarding Iran. On January 12, 2026, the day President Trump announced 25% tariffs on countries purchasing Iranian oil, the account executed its largest single sale: a position in the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF.

As tensions escalated, the account shifted toward safe-haven assets. On March 4, 2026, the day Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, the account bought the iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF. On March 5, 2026, it purchased the iShares Gold Trust, an energy ETF, and a Canadian equity ETF, with each trade in the $500,000-to-$1 million band.

Following an announcement on March 10, 2026, that Iran had apologized and surrendered, the account shifted toward international and emerging markets. This included the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF in the $500,000-to-$1 million band. On March 17, 2026, the account made a $1 million-to-$5 million purchase of the Schwab Government Money Fund.

On March 23, 2026, after the president announced via Truth Social that the U.S. And Iran were having very good and productive conversations, the account purchased shares in energy companies Phillips 66, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron, as well as defense contractors Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics.

Public Endorsements and Specific Holdings

The filings indicate the account acquired stakes in certain companies before the president mentioned them publicly. The account bought Dell on February 10, 2026, in the $1 million-to-$5 million band and continued adding positions through March. On May 8, 2026, President Trump told a White House audience to go out and buy a Dell.

Similarly, the account accumulated Intel shares through March. On April 30, 2026, the president posted on Truth Social that Intel stock continues to rise. The administration currently owns 10% of Intel.

Other notable trades included the purchase of Cal-Maine Foods on January 28, 2026, during a national egg shortage, and a $1 million-to-$5 million investment in Kura Sushi USA on February 2, 2026. The account also traded Coinbase, Robinhood, and Strategy Inc.

Ethics and Management Disputes

The management of these assets is a point of contention between White House and Trump Organization representatives. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization stated that the accounts are operated by third-party financial institutions with sole and exclusive authority over all investment decisions, noting that trades are executed through automated investment processes and systems.

However, Davis Ingle, a spokesperson for the White House, told Fortune that the assets are in a trust managed by his children. When asked about the discrepancy regarding the third-party institutions’ sole authority, Ingle stated that the inquiry should defer to Trump Org.

Richard Painter noted that the OGE filing is an incomplete picture of the president’s finances, as the 278-T report only captures personal accounts and does not include the dozens of LLCs and corporations controlled by Trump.

Painter argued that the ability of the president to move commodities markets and access confidential overseas information makes this level of trading problematic, regardless of who directs the trades.

He has no control over the accounts? That’s beside the point. He certainly has the control over the decision about whether we went to war or not. Richard Painter, securities law professor at the University of Minnesota