Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of the platform previously known as Twitter and now rebranded as X, has indicated the company’s watchful stance on its competitor, Threads, despite the apparent slowdown in its growth. Yaccarino’s remarks came during her debut interview with CNBC on Thursday, shedding light on X’s strategy to remain attuned to the evolving landscape of social media platforms.
Yaccarino acknowledged Threads‘ initial surge in popularity, buoyed by a strong start among Instagram users, but noted a subsequent decline in its traction. “Threads did jump in with a ton of hype and a launch pad from their Instagram users… [but] it’s dropped off dramatically,” Yaccarino stated. Despite this drop-off, she emphasized the importance of not underestimating any competition and the necessity of remaining attentive to potential iterations from rival platforms.
However, Yaccarino clarified that X is primarily focused on shaping its own trajectory, particularly in terms of achieving profitability. The company’s recent transformation from Twitter to X was motivated by a vision to evolve into an “everything app” comparable to China’s WeChat. Yaccarino suggested that Threads may be tracing a path similar to Twitter’s past, while X is forging ahead with a distinct roadmap and vision for its future.
As Yaccarino took over the reins from Elon Musk as X’s CEO in June, she inherited a range of challenges, including navigating a massive rebranding effort and revitalizing the core advertising business. The company’s rebranding from Twitter to X aimed to symbolize a departure from its legacy mindset and pave the way for a platform that reshapes how people gather and transact globally.
Yaccarino addressed X’s commitment to this vision and its decision to retire the widely recognized Twitter brand. She emphasized that the rebranding marked a liberation from past constraints, enabling X to reimagine how people engage and transact on a single platform. Yaccarino hinted at upcoming features, including video calls and payments, underscoring X’s aspiration to become a global town square characterized by real-time interaction and free expression.
While the company has undergone significant changes, Yaccarino indicated that X is poised for growth after a period of cost-cutting measures, including layoffs, infrastructure reductions, and office space adjustments. Twitter’s workforce has notably diminished from around 8,000 employees to approximately 1,500 since Musk’s takeover.
Despite these efforts, X faces substantial business challenges. Musk recently disclosed a 50% decline in advertising revenue and acknowledged the platform’s financial losses due to heavy debt. The company’s valuation has also dropped from $44 billion at the time of Musk’s acquisition to approximately $15 billion.
Yaccarino, leveraging her background as a former marketing executive with NBCUniversal, has been entrusted with revitalizing X’s advertising business. She reported that the company is close to achieving breakeven status, citing the return of notable partners like Coca-Cola, Visa, and State Farm. Yet, the post-Musk era has seen significant hurdles in retaining advertisers due to concerns about content moderation, layoffs, and the platform’s future direction.
Yaccarino underscored X’s commitment to its “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach” policy, designed to restrict the spread of lawful but objectionable content and protect brand integrity. She announced X’s rollout of additional brand safety controls for advertisers, allowing them to avoid having their ads appear next to specific objectionable content categories.
