Revenue surges at Sarasota video platform Rumble — along with a big loss

Longboat Key-based online video-sharing platform Rumble posted a large revenue gain in the 2023 first quarter — news partially overshadowed by an even larger net loss. 

The company, which officially opened its Longboat Key office in late February and rose to national prominence by catering to a conservative-leaning audience, especially during the pandemic, posted $17.6 million in revenue in the first quarter, according to a May 15 statement. That’s up 336% year-over-year, from $4 million in the 2022 first quarter. 

While the company touted the revenue gains, it also posted a net loss of $28.66 million in the first quarter, or 14 cents a share, according to its earnings report. That’s compared to a loss of $3.9 million, or $0.02 a share, in the same quarter last year. (Shares of Rumble are traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol RUM. Shares dropped -3.7% in May 15 overnight trading on the earnings news, according to MarketWatch. But by May 16 the stock was mostly back to where it was trading last week, hovering around $10 a share. Shares closed May 16 at $9.62.)