Twitter’s share price

By DATA TEAM

WHEN Twitter went public in 2013, the company made it clear that it was not Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg’s social networking giant had a bungled intial public offering and came close to ending its first day on the markets below the price set by the firm’s bankers. Twitter, by contrast, soared from an offer price of $26 to a closing price of nearly $45.

The fates of the two companies then diverged. For the first few months of Facebook’s existence, its stock suffered as the company struggled to convince shareholders of potential for growth. Twitter, by contrast, boomed. Then their fortunes turned. Facebook is worth twice as much today as on opening day. But Twitter yesterday (August 20th) dropped below its offer price.

Twitter has been trending downwards for the past several months. Its biggest bump this year came on rumours of a potential sale to Google (see chart). The reasons are many: user growth is stagnating. Money-making plans have stubbornly refused to take off. The CEO, Dick Costolo, resigned and a new one has yet to be appointed. Big shareholders, including the endowments at Harvard and Yale, have been selling off shares. The biggest disappointment? That Twitter, with its odd interface, insider slang, few new features, and uncertain future, is no Facebook.