X (Twitter) CEO Change & Declining Usage - What's Happening?

The Future of X: Competition Intensifies After CEO Departure

The recent announcement of Linda Yaccarino’s departure as CEO of X, formerly known as Twitter, signals a period of renewed competitive pressure for the platform that initially pioneered text-based social networking.

Declining User Base and Rising Competition

According to data from Sensor Tower, an app intelligence firm, X has experienced a roughly 10% decrease in its daily active user base year-over-year as of the second quarter of 2025.

Despite currently maintaining a user base 65% larger than Meta’s Threads and ten times that of Bluesky, its closest competitor, X’s long-term dominance in the social media landscape is not assured.

Threads Gains Momentum

Evidence suggests that Threads is making significant strides in mobile user acquisition.

Recent data released by Similarweb, a market intelligence provider, indicates that Threads is approaching X’s level of daily active users on mobile platforms.

In June 2025, Threads recorded 115.1 million daily active users on iOS and Android, representing a substantial 127.8% year-over-year increase. X, in contrast, reached 132 million daily actives, but experienced a 15.2% decline in year-over-year growth.

X's Continued Strengths

X still benefits from a stronger presence on web platforms overall.

Furthermore, the platform possesses inherent advantages that could fuel a compelling contest with other tech industry leaders. User engagement and loyalty remain robust on X, even amidst growing competition from Meta, open-source networks like Bluesky and Mastodon, and emerging startups.

Sensor Tower data reveals that X users dedicate an average of 31 minutes daily to the platform during the second quarter of 2025 – almost four times the 8 minutes spent by Threads users each day.

Additionally, nearly half (48%) of X’s global monthly app users engage with the platform on a daily basis, compared to 33% for Threads.

Threads' Growth Trajectory

Despite being smaller in overall user numbers, Threads is demonstrating impressive growth.

Over the past year, Threads’ global daily active users have increased by 160% year-over-year, as reported by Sensor Tower. This growth is attributed to the introduction of new features and functionalities, as well as its integration with Meta’s existing applications, such as Facebook and Instagram, which act as referral sources.

Monetization and Advertising

Threads is actively developing its advertising ecosystem as its primary revenue stream.

Meta opened Threads advertising to its global advertiser base in April, and subsequently initiated testing for video advertisements the following month.

The app leverages Meta’s established advertising infrastructure, providing marketers with familiar tools and access to the company’s extensive experience in maximizing ad revenue – spanning nearly two decades.

X's Advertising Recovery and Composition

Under Yaccarino’s leadership, X’s advertising revenue experienced a recovery, although it has been characterized by volatility.

Through 2025 year-to-date, advertisers in the media and entertainment, shopping, and gaming sectors account for 25%, 22%, and 7% of total U.S. ad spend on X, respectively. These categories have all shown growth since 2022, when they represented 20%, 14%, and 2% of ad spend, respectively.

In the past year, Samsung, Temu, State Farm, MGM, the NFL, Robinhood, Flutter, the NBA, Mihoyo, and Microsoft were among the top advertisers on X by U.S. ad spend. This year, Apple, Google, Verizon, and Dell have also joined this group of leading brands.

Data from ad intelligence provider Guideline indicates a 62% year-over-year increase in U.S. ad spending during the first half of 2025.

The Meta Challenge and Past Attempts

While advertising isn’t a zero-sum game, the dominance of Meta and Google presents a significant challenge.

For Meta, the primary hurdle wasn’t profitability with a new social app, but rather the ability to create an application that would resonate with consumers. For a long time, this proved elusive.

The company’s successful new apps were primarily those acquired, such as Instagram and WhatsApp.

Previous attempts to develop new social networking apps internally largely failed, resulting in the discontinuation of numerous experimental apps, including Tuned, Super, Move, Gaming, Hello, Neighborhood, Bulletin, Lasso, Moments, IGTV, Hobbi, Lifestage, Slingshot, Rooms, Rift, Notify, Paper, and others, as well as acquisitions like tbh.

Threads' Successful Launch

Threads represents a turning point for Meta, successfully leveraging Instagram’s existing user base to accelerate growth and utilizing Facebook and Instagram to drive user acquisition.

As of Meta’s latest earnings report, Threads boasts 350 million monthly active users. X, as a private company, is no longer obligated to publicly disclose its metrics, but Elon Musk has previously stated that X has 600 million monthly active users.