What happened
Shares of Twitter (TWTR +0.00%) fell 10.5% in February 2017, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
Essentially all of Twitter's February pain arrived on the 9th, following the company's fourth-quarter earnings report. The microblogging service's once-vibrant revenue growth slowed down to a 1% year-over-year gain, while bottom-line GAAP losses doubled.
Will Twitter ever find the right way forward? Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Twitter shares have now lost 62% of their original IPO value, as the company has struggled to find a sustainable balance between making money and attracting users. As a social-media product, Twitter is undeniably good at what it does. As a money-making business, the company still has a lot to prove.
The best-case scenario for Twitter investors at this point might be a sale to some larger company that lacks a social-media component. That would unlock some value from the namesake service by marrying it to a greater cause. On its own, I don't see Twitter as a viable investment -- and even the buyout bids will probably wait for a lower buyout price.
