X’s ad revenue struggles amid boycotts. Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) is facing a significant downturn in advertising revenue. Insider sources revealed that X expects to end 2023 with around $2.5 billion in ad revenue, a substantial drop from previous years and half a billion short of its $3 billion target.
In 2022, Twitter generated over $1 billion in ad revenue per quarter, but X has only managed a little over $600 million in each of the first three quarters of 2023. The recent advertiser fallout over antisemitic content on X, estimated to have caused a $75 million loss, further clouds the fourth quarter’s outlook.
Advertising earnings, which comprise 70-75 per cent of X’s revenue, suggest total earnings of roughly $3.4 billion in 2023, including subscriptions and data licensing deals. X’s head of business operations, Joe Benarroch, emphasized that X should no longer be compared to Twitter, as it is now an evolving business with multiple revenue streams. Amidst these challenges, X is attempting to attract more users and content creators with ad revenue sharing, but the current advertiser boycott and Musk’s controversial statements may hinder these efforts.
Sources include: ArsTechnica