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X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

wsj.com

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Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#71

Post by rchaud »

nonethewiser wrote: post #59
anonyme-honteux wrote: post #7

> X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024 If you believe it, it's not a lie!

> If you believe it, it's not a lie! Is this supposed to be some kind of “gotcha?” Of course saying something you believe is true is not a lie. Of course. Why would you even bring up the possibility of it being a lie? Nevermind a prediction cannot be a lie. Misleading perhaps, but not a lie.

Twitter's not going to disclose their actual numbers as a private corp, so while it's not a lie, it's also not a particularly verifiable truth.

Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#72

Post by rchaud »

jd3 wrote: post #49

Anecdotally speaking as a long time twitter lurker, the quality of my "For You" feed has dropped precipitously since the Musk acquisition — I am now consistently getting trashy, lowest common denominator shock/click-bait posts about race, iq, social/political violence, hitler, etc. in my feed despite the fact that I do not seek that content out and have only ever used twitter for art/philosophy/literature/tech/scienc…

Even if I'm on the "Following" tab, I often do not see posts from people I've followed.

Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#73

Post by timeon »

losvedir wrote: post #38

I’m not surprised the comments here are universally skeptical so far, but I’ll chime in that I think it’s plausible. The largest expense by far was compensation and with 10% the previous workforce it dropped dramatically. The question is how much revenue would have fallen. In the HN bubble X is basically over and everyone has moved to Mastodon, but there has been little change in the folks I follow. Are journalists a…

> Are journalists and ordinary folk leaving en masse as well?

I have no Twitter account and for couple of months Twitter links are not working for me. Before, I have not noticed the presence of Twitter because it was just another link I have visited. But now when it is just error page I have noticed how omnipresent Twitter is on sites like Reddit, HN and in the news.

Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#74

Post by micv »

jd3 wrote: post #49

Anecdotally speaking as a long time twitter lurker, the quality of my "For You" feed has dropped precipitously since the Musk acquisition — I am now consistently getting trashy, lowest common denominator shock/click-bait posts about race, iq, social/political violence, hitler, etc. in my feed despite the fact that I do not seek that content out and have only ever used twitter for art/philosophy/literature/tech/scienc…

The replies from blue ticks that get pushed up mostly seem to be braindead trolling and camgirl spam too. Twitter was always a bit of a cesspit but you could curate your way to a useful feed. Now it's just awful.

Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#75

Post by rchaud »

logicalmonster wrote: post #69

A few questions based on reading the comments here. 1) Why are people so certain that the claims that X should profit are incorrect? X did cut a massive percentage of their staff, and presumably whatever infrastructure changes they've initiated in the past months to save money should be done by then. Nobody can perfectly predict the future, but reducing expenses drastically seems like a good step forward in achieving…

> Nobody can perfectly predict the future, but reducing expenses drastically seems like a good step forward in achieving their goal.

Cutting expenses is one part of the equation. The other is debt servicing.

There's $13 billion in loans used to buy Twitter, that now sit on Twitter's balance sheet. There's a minimum of $1.2 billion in annual interest payments on those loans.

Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#76

Post by rchaud »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #16
coldcode wrote: post #13

If you don't pay your rent and other obligations, profit is easy. Of course it might eventually catch up to you...

If you do not open your books for auditing, claiming profit is easy too.

Twitter as a large corporation has to have its financials audited. They don't have to share the results with the SEC or the general public though.

Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#77

Post by rchaud »

bdcravens wrote: post #47
influx wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who are the investors? Musk bought them out.

Musk took on debt to fund the purchase. Vanguard Group, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, and State Street all are part of the ownership group.

They're not owners, they're creditors. They receive interest payments, not dividends.

Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#78

Post by logicalmonster »

rchaud wrote: post #75
logicalmonster wrote: post #69

A few questions based on reading the comments here. 1) Why are people so certain that the claims that X should profit are incorrect? X did cut a massive percentage of their staff, and presumably whatever infrastructure changes they've initiated in the past months to save money should be done by then. Nobody can perfectly predict the future, but reducing expenses drastically seems like a good step forward in achieving…

> Nobody can perfectly predict the future, but reducing expenses drastically seems like a good step forward in achieving their goal. Cutting expenses is one part of the equation. The other is debt servicing. There's $13 billion in loans used to buy Twitter, that now sit on Twitter's balance sheet. There's a minimum of $1.2 billion in annual interest payments on those loans.

> There's a minimum of $1.2 billion in annual interest payments on those loans.

That's a big number, but in an of itself doesn't really say anything conclusively without knowing the rest of their expenses as well as revenue.

Since X is now a private company, does the public have access to that other info other than making guesses based on past years' financial filings?

Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#79

Post by thrill »

ssgodderidge wrote: post #18
toomuchtodo wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lying to users about performance is covered under free speech. It's securities fraud if Musk is knowingly lying to those with an interest in X, even if a private company. Necessary components are standing ("I own a piece of X"), appetite to litigate, and evidence the statement was knowingly untrue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securities_Exchange_Act_of_193... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Securities_Litigat…

The key there is "knowingly." For those who want to litigate, proving that he's lying is incredibly difficult. You would need some kind of internal message from Musk directly saying that "X will not be profitable in 2024" right before he posted. I doubt anyone will actually sue him over this.

There's also "should have known", aka fiduciary duty.

Re: X CEO Says Platform Should Turn Profit in 2024

#80

Post by jhp123 »

nonethewiser wrote: post #62

Lots of skepticism here with the implicit recognition that it would be a major accomplishment if true. And it absolutely would be a major accomplishment if true.

you could turn any company profitable by firing all its employees and licensing the brand name. It will be an extraordinary accomplishment indeed if X becomes a > $44 billion company, but turning a small profit on declining revenue is not actually moving that direction.
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