Twitter feels like a slow-moving train wreck at the moment.
Shares in the struggling social media company slumped to their lowest level on record in New York overnight, falling 5.6 per cent to $US29.27. The shares have plunged 45 per cent in the past four months and are well off their record high of $US73.31 set in December 2013, less than two months after its IPO.
The decline comes after the company reported an underwhelming set of quarterly numbers last week, and after its interim CEO, co-founder Jack Dorsey, was remarkably candid about its problems.
"We haven't done a great job at aligning the entire company around our total audience strategy," he said on a conference call. "We realise it'll take some time to show results we all want to see."
Basically, Twitter, which has about one fifth the user base of Facebook, is nowhere near big enough to justify its gigantic valuation. It has widespread brand recognition, thanks to a strong presence in traditional media, but a niche user base of journalists and celebrities. Mainstream audiences are still confused and put off by it.
Already speculation has turned to whether someone (Like Google? Facebook? Japan's Softbank?) might be interested in acquiring the business. Whether that transpires is anyone's guess (Twitter's US-based spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment).
The company appears to be pinning its hopes on Project Lightning, a major product update that will filter the content on Twitter based on events, and is designed to appeal to people who aren't logged into the service, as well as regular users. Investors will be desperately hoping that it works.
