Bad week in social media gets worse; Twitter hammered

Twitter shares plunge 20.5 percent

By Barbara Ortutay | AP

the logo for Twitter is displayed above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. | AP file photo

NEW YORK — Twitter’s stock plunged 20.5 percent after the company said monthly users decreased in the second quarter.

The social media company also predicted further declines in the next few months.

It was the second-biggest loss for Twitter’s stock since the company went public in 2013.

In percentage terms, the decline was slightly worse than Facebook’s plunge on Thursday, but Facebook is a far more valuable company.

Twitter and Facebook are trying to reduce the amount of abuse and hate speech on their platforms, but that’s affecting their growth, one of the things investors value the most.

Twitter has doubled in value over the past year as it became profitable for the first time and investors applauded its live video efforts.

• Facebook’s market value plunges $119 billion

• Twitter finds itself a target of a Trump tweet

Next Up In Business

Netflix looks to curb password sharing, considers ads

Food packager plans to build a new plant, add jobs on the South Side

Putin’s pollock: U.S. seafood imports fuel Russian war machine

Democrat Giannoulias in the driver’s seat in race for campaign cash in hotly contested secretary of state contest

New HIRE360 small-business development center receives $3 million investment

Chicago casino sites gain critics on the City Council

Twitter shares plunge 20.5 percent

RELATED