Twitter Inc. blamed a surprising decline in quarterly revenue and a net loss on Friday on its protracted battle to clinch Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the company as well as a deteriorating digital advertising market.
The results’ revelation comes as Twitter, which has sued Musk for withdrawing his attempt to acquire the company, gets ready for a legal battle that will begin in October. The purchase’s ambiguity has frightened Twitter’s advertisers and caused a stir inside. It had expected $1.22 billion in advertising income, but it only increased by 2% to $1.08 billion.
The second quarter’s overall revenue, which also includes subscription revenue, decreased from the $1.19 billion earned at the same time last year to $1.18 billion. $1.32 billion was on the table for analysts.