Twitter Tumbles After Digital Ad Sales Disappoint
- Sales gain of 28% in first quarter falls short of larger peers
- Social media company also offers lackluster revenue forecast
Twitter Inc. tumbled 13% Friday morning after the social media company posted a sluggish start to the year in its advertising business and gave a disappointing revenue forecast, a sign the social media service hasn’t fully capitalized on the digital advertising boom amid the pandemic like companies such as Facebook Inc. and Google.
Sales were slow during the first months of 2021 after a busy holiday season, and some advertisers pulled back their spending because of the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, company executives said. “When there is unrest for one reason or another,” Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal said on a call with analysts, brand advertisers “often pause when there is a more important conversation than the conversation around their product.”