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However popular Twitter (now X) was before Elon Musk’s era, it came under an even brighter spotlight when Tesla’s owner expressed a desire to purchase the platform to “protect free speech”.
As part of his $44 billion acquisition of the social media service, Musk delisted Twitter and took it out of the hands of public shareholders. Turning Twitter into a private company has given Musk some advantages. Unlike publicly traded companies, Twitter now does not need to make quarterly public disclosures about its performance. Less subjected to regulatory scrutiny, it is still tightly controlled by Musk. He can change its content rules, its priorities, its managers, and its finances without considering how these changes would affect the investing public.
To understand how Twitter (X) has changed over the years and how it will probably change in the future, continue reading. Even though you cannot now invest in Twitter (X), you can still obtain valuable information about this company and its owner.
Twitter (X) Historical Earnings 💰📈
Interested to see how Twitter (X) performed when it was a listed stock? Check out the historicalTwitter (X) earnings per share data.
Twitter’s Annual Revenue from 2010
Revenue is the amount of money a company receives from its customers in exchange for the sales of goods or services. Revenue is the top line item on an income statement from which all costs and expenses are subtracted to arrive at net income.
Most of the revenue made by X is through advertising services and Data Licensing.
In the year 2023, Twitter reported a revenue of $3.4 billion, which marks a drop of 22% from the previous year.On November 8, 2022, Twitter was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and its shares stopped trading on public markets.
In September 2022, Twitter’s shareholders approved the company’s sale to Elon Musk, agreeing to sell their stock to him for $54.20 a share.
Twitter’s Annual Revenue in $US Billion
| Year | Annual Revenue in $US Million |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $3.4 |
| 2022 | $4.4 |
| 2021 | $5 |
| 2020 | $3.72 |
| 2019 | $3.46 |
| 2018 | $3.04 |
| 2017 | $2.44 |
| 2016 | $2.53 |
| 2015 | $2.22 |
| 2014 | $1.4 |
| 2013 | $0.66 |
| 2012 | $0.32 |
| 2011 | $0.106 |
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Twitter’s Net Income from 2010
A company’s net income is its net profit or loss after all revenues, income items, and expenses have been accounted for.
For the quarter ending on 31 March 2022, Twitter’s quarterly net earnings amounted to $513 million. For the quarter ending 06 June 2022, its net loss was $-270 million. Apart from two years, 2018 and 2019, Twitter consistently reported annual net losses.
Twitter Net Income
| Year | Net Income in $US Million |
|---|---|
| 2022 (Q1+Q2) | $513; $-270 |
| 2021 | $-221 |
| 2020 | $-1,136 |
| 2019 | $1,466 |
| 2018 | $1,206 |
| 2017 | $-108 |
| 2016 | $-457 |
| 2015 | $-521 |
| 2014 | $-578 |
| 2013 | $-645 |
| 2012 | $-79 |
| 2011 | $-164 |
| 2010 | $-67 |
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Twitter’s Operating Income from 2010
Operating income is income after operating expenses have been deducted and before interest payments and taxes have been deducted.
For the quarter ending on 31 March 2022, Twitter’s operating loss was $-120 million. For the quarter ending 06 June 2022, the company’s operating loss was $-344 million.
Twitter Operating Income in $US Million
| Year | Operating Income in $US Million |
|---|---|
| 2022 (Q1; Q2) | $-120; $-344 |
| 2021 | $-492.7 |
| 2020 | $26.66 |
| 2019 | $366.37 |
| 2018 | $453.3 |
| 2017 | $38.7 |
| 2016 | $-367.2 |
| 2015 | $-450.04 |
| 2014 | $-538.87 |
| 2013 | $-636.8 |
| 2012 | $-77.08 |
| 2011 | $-127 |
| 2010 | $-67 |
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Earnings per share – EPS – is defined as a company’s net earnings or losses attributable to common shareholders per diluted share base. This includes all convertible securities and debt, options, and warrants.
For the quarter ending on 31 March 2022, Twitter’s diluted EPS was $0.61, whereas, in the quarter ending on 30 June 2022, it sank to $-0.35.
Twitter’s EPS
| Year | EPS |
|---|---|
| 2022 (Q1; Q2) | $0.61; $-0.35 |
| 2021 | $-0.28 |
| 2020 | $-1.44 |
| 2019 | $1.87 |
| 2018 | $1.56 |
| 2017 | $-0.15 |
| 2016 | $-0.65 |
| 2015 | $-0.79 |
| 2014 | $-0.96 |
| 2013 | $-3.41 |
| 2012 | $-0.68 |
| 2011 | $-1.60 |
| 2010 | $-0.89 |
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Twitter’s Historical Annual Stock Price Data from 2014
The stock of Twitter (TWTR) was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, October 28, 2022, with its last share price recorded at was $53.70. The all-time high Twitter closing stock price was $77.63 on March 01, 2021. Its shares are not traded anymore.
| Year | Average Stock Price | Year Open | Year High | Year Low | Year Close | Annual Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 41.0348 | 42.6600 | 53.7000 | 32.4200 | 53.7000 | 24.25% |
| 2021 | 59.9917 | 54.5300 | 77.6300 | 42.0700 | 43.2200 | -20.18% |
| 2020 | 37.2158 | 32.3000 | 55.8700 | 22.0000 | 54.1500 | 68.95% |
| 2019 | 35.5754 | 28.8100 | 45.4200 | 27.9900 | 32.0500 | 11.52% |
| 2018 | 32.8285 | 24.5100 | 46.7600 | 22.1600 | 28.7400 | 19.70% |
| 2017 | 17.8236 | 16.4400 | 25.2000 | 14.2900 | 24.0100 | 47.30% |
| 2016 | 17.5711 | 22.5600 | 24.8700 | 14.0100 | 16.3000 | -29.56% |
| 2015 | 35.3443 | 36.5600 | 52.8700 | 22.1400 | 23.1400 | -35.49% |
| 2014 | 45.4515 | 67.5000 | 69.0000 | 30.5000 | 35.8700 | -43.64% |
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How Many Users Does Twitter Have?
Twitter is most popular in the United States. As of January 2023, 95.4 million Americans used Twitter. Japan and India came second and third, with approximately 67.45 million and 27.25 million users, respectively. In November 2022, Twitter boasted 259.4 million monetizable daily active users worldwide.
As on March 13, 2024, the most-followed Twitter accounts include Elon Musk himself, Obama, Justin Bieber, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rihanna, and Katy Perry. Elon Musk has more than 176 million followers.
But although people enthusiastically use Twitter, especially in the US, many accounts stay idle. Musk decided in May 2023 to start removing accounts that have been inactive for several years, saying that doing this is essential to free up abandoned handles.
Number of Twitter Users Per Top-15 Country in January 2024 (in Millions)
| Country | Twitter (X) Users in Millions |
|---|---|
| USA | 105.42 |
| Japan | 73.4 |
| India | 26.08 |
| UK | 25.6 |
| Indonesia | 24.69 |
| Brazil | 22.13 |
| Turkey | 20.67 |
| Mexico | 18.02 |
| France | 17.46 |
| Saudi Arabia | 16.84 |
| Germany | 16.16 |
| Thailand | 14.68 |
| Canada | 14.41 |
| Spain | 11.78 |
| Philippines | 10.77 |
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A Short History of Twitter
- Twitter was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its founders were Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. This was originally a side project stemming from the podcasting tool Odeo.
- In July 2007, Twitter received a $100,000 Series A funding round led by Union Square Ventures.
- Dorsey stepped down as CEO in October 2008 and was replaced by Evan Williams.
- In 2010, Twitter reached space, when NASA Astronaut Timothy Creamer sent the first tweet from space. The same year, Williams ceded the CEO position to Dick Costolo. Twitter had about 300 employees in 2010.
- In 2012, Twitter’s reach grew to 200 million active users. Obama used the platform to announce his victory publicly in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.
- In November 2013, Twitter went public on the New York Stock Exchange. The combined wealth of Williams, Dorsey, and Costolo was about $4 billion.
- After several years of financial decline and waning popularity, rumors began spreading in 2016 that Twitter was looking to be acquired by Salesforce.
- 2017 was financially profitable for the company, while Trump was the most popular topic of people’s tweets that year.
- 2019-2020, Twitter continued to struggle to grow its business. The platform was also hacked in the first year of the pandemic.
- In 2022, Musk took over Twitter and immediately fired Parag Agrawal, then incumbent CEO, finance head Ned Segal, and head of legal policy Vijaya Gadde.
- On November 8, 2022, Twitter was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Before that, in September 2022, Twitter’s shareholders approved the company’s sale to Musk and agreed to sell their stock to him for $54.20 a share. Investors could claim the cash value of their shares.
Source: CNBC
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Some Facts about Elon Musk
- As of April 2, 2024, Elon Musk is the third richest person on the planet. His net worth is estimated at $195 billion.
- Elon Musk co-founded six companies, including rocket producer SpaceX, and tunneling startup Boring Company.
- He owns about 21% of Tesla between stock and options. Musk has pledged more than half his shares as collateral for loans.
- SpaceX, founded in 2002, is worth over $180 billion as of December 2023. It has managed to quadruple its value in three years.
- Boring Company, whose aim is to defeat traffic, raised $675 million in April 2022 at a $5.7 billion valuation.
- Musk now owns an estimated 74% of Twitter.
Elon Musk’s Wealth History
| Year | Net Worth ($US Billion) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 180 |
| 2022 | 219 |
| 2021 | 151 |
| 2020 | 24.6 |
| 2019 | 22.3 |
| 2018 | 19.9 |
| 2017 | 13.9 |
| 2016 | 10.7 |
| 2015 | 12 |
| 2014 | 8.4 |
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Twitter (X) Statistics and Facts You Should Know in 2023
- Even though Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, in May 2023 its worth amounted to only $15 million, nearly a third of what Musk paid for it a year earlier.
- The highest end-of-day price of Twitter stock (TWTR) reached $77.63 on March 1, 2021.
- The stock’s all-time low price sank to $13.73 on May 23, 2016.
- In 2021, Twitter’s annual revenue was just over $5 billion. That year, the company incurred a net loss of $221 million.
- The first tweet was sent on 21 March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, one of the company’s founders. It said: “just setting up my twttr” by @jack.
- The hashtag idea was proposed in August 2007 by Chris Messina. He wrote: “How do you feel about using # for groups?” Elon Musk now says that he hates hashtags.
- Twitter expanded its character limit from 140 to 280 in November 2017.
- In April 2023, Musk fired more than 6,000 Twitter employees, constituting around 80% of its workforce.
- The company made a profit for the first time in its history in the fourth quarter of 2017. It earned a $91 million profit on revenue of $732 million.
- In February 2012, Twitter announced a partnership with the Russian search engine Yandex.
- In October 2012, Twitter bought Vine. In January 2013, the company released it as a separate app. The app closed down in October 2016.
- In November 2013, Twitter went public with shares valued at $26 at the opening. Their price nearly doubled – $44- by the closing that day.
- The most popular brand account on Twitter is YouTube.
- Twitter is the 9th most visited website worldwide.
- It is the world’s 7th favorite social media platform.
- In 2023, Twitter’s user count is expected to grow to 329 million.
- 76.9 million Americans have a Twitter account.
- The average user spends 5.1 hours a month on Twitter.
- Over 16% of internet users aged 16-64 use Twitter for brand research.
- People spent 6 minutes per day on Twitter in 2023.
- Twitter’s CPM is the lowest out of all major platforms.
- Ad revenue on Twitter is more than $1.41 billion.
- Twitter is more popular with millennials than Gen-Z.
- There are over 500 million tweets sent per day.
- The most talked about athletes on Twitter are LeBron James and Simone Biles.
- An average user has over 700 followers.
- There are 391 million Twitter accounts with zero followers.
- Brands send on average 0.86 tweets per day, for which they see a median engagement of 0.048%.
- Twitter used to be a public company before Musk purchased it. On November 8, 2022, it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
- More than 5000 employees are working in 2023 at Twitter. Rumors have it that 2000 more will be hired in 2023.
- Twitter’s engineering team is the largest in the company.
- Twitter is frequently sued by its employees. In August 2023, Twitter was sued by seven former employees who allege they were discriminated against based on sex, age, race, and/or for taking medical leave. Following 2022’s layoffs, former employees claim that Twitter failed to pay promised severance, failed to follow layoff notification requirements, discriminated against them based on age, sex, and disability, and failed to pay vendors and employee bonuses.
- Twitter’s competitors and similar companies include YouTube, Meta, Instagram, Google, Snap, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and WeChat.
- Twitter is available in almost all countries except China, North Korea, and Iran, where it is blocked.
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Changes in Twitter since April 2022
Back in April 2022, Musk said all the right words about the crucial role Twitter would play for civilization, but then he began to temporize, attempting to put the deal on hold because of spambots. Nevertheless, $44 billion was eventually paid for Twitter in October 2022, after which the platform began experiencing various changes that continue taking place until now.
How has Musk Changed Twitter?
The most inconvenient of these changes is Twitter’s recent change of name. On July 22, 2023, Twitter was re-baptized into X, and the iconic bird logo was replaced with “X.” But as Musk warned that this was only a temporary logo, more changes in the company’s branding are possibly in the cards. The app also altered its official handle to @x as part of the rebranding. The original @Twitter handle is now deactivated and redirects users to @x for updates. Meanwhile, Musk is planning to auction off the old Twitter building signs and other relics of the company’s past. Large bird cages, oil paintings, desks, chairs, and a DJ booth are among the 584 lots presented at the auction. People who like these items for sentimental reasons will be able to purchase them at the beginning of September 2023.
Changes in the company’s name followed changes in its upper management. In May, Musk stepped down from his position as Twitter (X) CEO, ceding this place to Linda Yaccarino, who had left her role as chairman of Global Advertising & Partnerships at NBCU to help out Musk.
After passing the CEO baton to Yaccarino, Musk became the company’s executive chair and CTO.
Other changes made in 2023 abound.
In July 2023, Apple began to accept the rebranding of Twitter’s app to X in the App Store. Although Apple does not let developers name their apps as a single character, it made an exception for Elon Musk. X also changed its App Store tagline from “Let’s Talk” to “Blaze Your Glory!”
At the same time, in July, X opened up its ad revenue-sharing program worldwide to eligible creators. As Musk clarified, the program would give out $5 million in the first round of creator payments. In August, it lowered requirements for X’s creator payout program. Those creators who gain 5 million impressions in the previous three months (rolling) are eligible for ad revenue sharing. Before, the number of impressions was higher, at 15 million. To qualify for payouts, however, users also need to have over 500 followers.
Musk also started talking about job postings on X. Although the feature doesn’t yet exist, some organizations have already started posting job listings, which take applicants to their websites where they submit their applications.
In addition to job listings, Twitter Notes came back in July 2023. This feature will allow users to publish long-form content when they have a lot to say. A month before that, X limited the number of tweets users can read daily. According to new rules, holders of verified accounts can read a maximum of 6,000 posts daily. In contrast, unverified users must be happy with only 600 posts a day. Recently registered, unverified users experience even stricter restrictions with an allowance of a meager 300 posts a day. But although subscribers can read less now, they can compose longer tweets. Twitter Blue subscribers are now permitted to post 25,000-character-long sentences. They can also choose any emoji to react to a DM in a conversation, and edit their posts if they spot a typo.
The list of changes introduced on X can go on almost ad infinitum. Considering Elon Musk’s inventiveness and impulsiveness, there is no guessing how far he can go in revolutionizing X in 2023 or several years down the line.
X might become surprisingly different from the company we are familiar with now.
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X’s Future Competition With Meta
Twitter (X) competes with many companies, the strongest among which are Meta (Facebook and Instagram), YouTube, Google, and Snap.
So far, Twitter has managed lean years and mismanagement. It has suffered massive layoffs, service disruptions, and abandonment by top advertisers. But now Meta is dealing Twitter an even stronger blow with its Threads app. Within the first week, Threads boasted more than 100 million users. On its launch day, Threads users opened the app an average of 14 times and spent an average of 19 minutes scrolling through it. Although Threads’ user count has fallen sharply since its launch, analysts still do not rule out the possibility that it will rival Twitter.
Traffic analysts worry that a downfall for X has already begun as they notice a decline in X usage in the past several weeks. They predict that X’s users might be lured to defect to Threads, leaving Musk to fight a losing battle for customers’ attention. Others are confident, however, that Musk is not easily cowed and might attack hard to retain the popularity of his social platform.
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X Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I invest in Twitter (X)?
As of November 2022, Twitter (X) is no longer a listed company, meaning it isn’t possible to buy shares in the company. However, if you’re looking for other tech opportunities, be sure to take a look at our list of the best online brokers and top trading platforms. Or, if you want to invest in more tech-based stocks at the same time via ETFs, we also have a ready-made list of the best-rated online ETF brokers to get you started.
Q: How much did Elon Musk pay for Twitter?
Elon Musk paid $54.2 per share in cash for Twitter, in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. The deal was announced on April 25, 2022, and completed on October 27, 2022.
Q: How to get verified on Twitter?
To get verified on X, you need to take several simple steps. First, fill out your profile completely with a profile picture, cover photo, name, website, and bio. Second, add a verified phone number and confirm your email address. Third, add your birthday and set your tweets as “public.” Finally, visit the verification form on Twitter.
Q: How much is Twitter Blue?
At the time of writing, X Blue costs $3 per month or $32 per year for the web in the US.
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