Gilead
Fig. 1. “Elon Musk shared a video of his entrance on his Twitter account.” Photograph attributed to Elon Musk, October 26, 2022, via the New York Post,[1] fair use.
Some 625 of the top 1,000 Twitter advertisers, including major brands such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Jeep, Wells Fargo and Merck, had pulled their ad dollars as of January, according to estimates from Pathmatics, based on data running through January 25. . . .
As a result of the pullback, monthly revenue from Twitter’s top 1,000 advertisers plummeted by more than 60% from October through January 25, from around $127 million to just over $48 million, according to the data.[2]
Between this and the Twitter Blue fiasco, in which indeed, hardly anyone has signed up for the debased blue checkmark,[3] we are well into where I say, as I’ve said of a few things, “If it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense, and it cannot last.”
I don’t know what happens next. But most assuredly, something will.
Clare Duffy, “More than half of Twitter’s top 1,000 advertisers stopped spending on platform, data show,” CNN, February 10, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/10/tech/twitter-top-advertiser-decline/index.html
So-called ‘ridesharing’
Bezzle
Fig. 1. “Clarkdale Classic Gas Station, Clarkdale, Arizona,” Photograph by Alan Levine, October 28, 2016, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
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Much as I despise both Uber and Lyft, I’m having a hard time seeing how Lyft’s demise would benefit anyone. It would just give Uber a free hand to treat drivers even worse, pay them even less, and to charge passengers even more.
But failing to make a profit means that both companies depend on investors’ largesse. And it sure looks like they’re turning sour on Lyft.[4]
Preetika Rana, “Lyft Shares Slide After Disappointing Revenue and Ridership Numbers,” Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/lyft-q3-earnings-report-2022-11667852844
Ashley Capoot, “Uber beats estimates and the stock is up,” CNBC, February 8, 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/uber-earnings-q4-2022.html
Levi Sumagaysay, “Lyft stock sinks 30% after sales outlook falls short of $1 billion,” MarketWatch, February 9, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lyft-stock-sinks-more-than-20-after-sales-outlook-fails-to-reach-1-billion-11675977504
Caitlin McCabe, “Lyft Stock Has Worst Day Ever After Unexpected Loss; Uber Shares Fall,” Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-02-10-2023/card/lyft-s-stock-heads-for-worst-day-ever-after-unexpected-loss-OSs9KvPhPM4k5RFXvDOx
- [1]Thomas Barrabi, “Elon Musk barges into Twitter HQ as deal nears: ‘Let that sink in,’” New York Post, October 26, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-barges-into-twitter-headquarters-as-deal-nears/↩
- [2]Clare Duffy, “More than half of Twitter’s top 1,000 advertisers stopped spending on platform, data show,” CNN, February 10, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/10/tech/twitter-top-advertiser-decline/index.html↩
- [3]Mark Frauenfelder, “Only 180,000 people in the U.S. are paying for Twitter Blue. That covers about 1% of its annual debt,” Boing Boing, February 6, 2023, https://boingboing.net/2023/02/06/only-0-2-of-twitters-active-users-have-paid-for-twitter-blue-subscriptions.html↩
- [4]Caitlin McCabe, “Lyft Stock Has Worst Day Ever After Unexpected Loss; Uber Shares Fall,” Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-02-10-2023/card/lyft-s-stock-heads-for-worst-day-ever-after-unexpected-loss-OSs9KvPhPM4k5RFXvDOx; Preetika Rana, “Lyft Shares Slide After Disappointing Revenue and Ridership Numbers,” Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/lyft-q3-earnings-report-2022-11667852844; Levi Sumagaysay, “Lyft stock sinks 30% after sales outlook falls short of $1 billion,” MarketWatch, February 9, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lyft-stock-sinks-more-than-20-after-sales-outlook-fails-to-reach-1-billion-11675977504↩