X is now worth less than 25% of what Elon Musk paid for it

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The value of X, formerly known as Twitter, continues to dwindle. A newly released disclosure report from Fidelity’s Blue Chip Growth Fund, which has an equity stake in the social media company, has once again adjusted the value of that holding. And by Fidelity’s calculations, the site is now worth less than 25% of the $44 billion Musk paid for it. When Musk bought Twitter, Fidelity invested $19.66 million. As of the end of July, it says, those shares were worth just $5.5 million. That puts the total valuation of X at $9.4 billion. X is not a publicly traded company, so Fidelity’s disclosure report is one of the best ways for onlookers to get a sense of the social media site’s value. Last year, the site brought in an estimated $2.5 billion in advertising revenue, which was roughly half the amount it earned in 2022. Ad sales make up between 70% and 75% of X’s total revenue. Amid the deterioration in its financials, the company also recently shut down its San Francisco headquarters and moved to Texas. Employees who remain in California will be forced to move to a smaller office well outside of the city. Musk has attempted to boost morale with the promise of stock grants (if workers can prove their worth in a memo). Employees, though, remain skeptical after other promises have been broken. Fidelity is far from the only partial owner of X. A filing in August showed that Bill Ackman and Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently in jail awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking and abuse, also own stakes in the company. In March, Fidelity trimmed its valuation on X, following a similar cut in January. With the most recent markdown, Fidelity has downgraded the worth of its X holdings by a total of 78.7%.

Reporting By Chris Morris

Fortune via Reuters Connect