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Twitter’s tumultuous run under Elon Musk looks to be continuing, with a new report indicating sustained financial pressure for the social-media site.
The Information reported late Tuesday that a Twitter manager told employees that the company’s revenue for the day was 40% below where it was on the same day a year before, reflecting pressure on Twitter’s advertising business. The story cited someone with “direct knowledge.”
The report also noted that more than 500 top Twitter advertisers have paused spending on the service.
MarketWatch has reached out to Twitter for comment. The company is said to have disbanded its media relations team amid sharp job cuts during Musk’s tenure as owner.
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Twitter’s reported challenges are likely the result of various pressures. New owner Elon Musk has made provocative statements on Twitter and moved toward a more lax approach to content moderation — factors that are thought to have alienated some prominent advertisers. Additionally, Musk’s purchase of Twitter came amid a weakening ad climate, which has impacted social-media companies and other ad-dependent players across the board.
Musk reportedly warned employees shortly after his Twitter takeover that the company’s financial position meant bankruptcy couldn’t be ruled out. The New York Times reported a month ago that Musk had stopped paying rent on Twitter office space.
The Financial Times reported that the first round of interest payments related to Musk’s debt funding for the Twitter deal are due as early as the end of January.
Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter has made a number of changes to its service, and some seem to be having ripple effects across the industry. Digiday reported Wednesday that a group of publishers has seen a sharp drop in referral traffic from Twitter, which some blamed on the removal of Twitter Moments, a feature that let people collect related tweets in one place in order to tell a story.
