Twitter Accuses Elon Musk for Its Struggles

The results come as Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) has sued Musk for dropping his offer to buy the company. He is now preparing for a legal showdown in a trial set to begin in October. The deal uncertainty has worried Twitter’s advertisers and caused chaos inside the company.

Advertising revenue rose just 2% to $1.08 billion, missing Wall Street expectations of $1.22 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Total second-quarter revenue, including subscriptions, was $1.18 billion, compared with $1.19 billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting $1.32 billion.

Twitter shares were down 3% in trading before the bell.

Twitter said its net loss was $270 million, or 35 cents per share, down from a profit of $65.6 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier.

Its adjusted 8-cent loss missed expectations for a 14-cent adjusted profit.

Cut Back Advertisements

On Thursday, Snapchat parent Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP) posted weak results and declined to make a forecast, citing “incredibly challenging” conditions as advertisers cut back on spending.

Twitter and its peers, including Snap and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), saw an uptick in revenue last year as brands spent heavily on online advertising, eyeing a recovery from the pandemic.

But inflation pressures and fears of a recession this year have forced brands to rethink their marketing budgets.

At the same time, Gen-Z’s favorite TikTok and tech giant Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), which gives users a choice to opt-out of data tracking, are grabbing market share in the digital ad space.