Loss of revenue

NEW YORK/LONDON - Top advertisers on Twitter slashed their spending after Elon Musk’s takeover, according to estimates compiled for Reuters by research firm Pathmatics, in the latest shock to the company’s dominant revenue source.

Fourteen of the top 30 advertisers on Twitter stopped all advertising on the platform after Mr Musk took charge on October 27, according to the Pathmatics estimates.

Four advertisers reduced spending between 92 per cent and 98.7 per cent from the week before Mr Musk’s acquisition through the end of the year.

Overall, advertising spending by the top 30 companies fell by 42 per cent to an estimated $53.8 million for November and December combined, according to Pathmatics, despite an increase in spending by six of them.

Pathmatics said the previously unreported figures on Twitter advertising are estimates.

The firm bases its estimates on technologies that track ads on desktop browsers and the Twitter app as well as those that mimic user experience.

But the company said those estimates do not account for deals advertisers may receive from Twitter, or promoted trends and accounts.

“It is possible the spending data could be higher for some brands” if Twitter is offering incentives, Pathmatics said in an email.

Twitter did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In a November event on Twitter Spaces, Mr Musk, addressing the issue of companies pausing ads, said that he understands if advertisers “want to give it a minute.”

He added that “the best way to see how things are evolving (at

Twitter) is just use Twitter”.

Technology-focused publication The Information, citing details shared by a top Twitter ad executive at a staff meeting on Wednesday, reported that Twitter’s fourth quarter revenue fell about 35 per cent year over year due to a slump in advertising.

Twitter posted a loss of $270m in the three months ended June 30, on total revenue of about $1.18 billion.

The Pathmatics estimates show continued upheaval in Twitter’s main revenue stream heading into 2023, led by a pullback from top consumer brands.