Oct 29, 2023 - Economy

Fidelity has marked down the value of Twitter/X by 65%

Dan Primack

Photo illustration of Elon Musk looking worried and surrounded by bright red X's. — Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Mutual fund giant Fidelity wrote down the value of its shares in Twitter/X by another 8% during the month of September, according to a new disclosure.

By the numbers: Fidelity, which contributed over $300 million to Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover, decreased the value of its investment by nearly 65% over the first eleven months.

It increased the value of its shares for consecutive months earlier this year, but that is now the outlier.

Caveat: Fidelity doesn't explain how it calculates its valuations for unlisted securities, and other Twitter/X shareholders may have different holding values.

There's speculation that it uses public market comps like Snap, although Snap shares lost 13.9% during September and only around 10% over the relevant one-year period.

The bottom line: Twitter/X downloads and advertising revenue have both fallen significantly so far under Musk, who has repeatedly admitted that he overpaid for the social media platform.

Go deeper: Elon Musk's bad bet

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Fidelity has marked down the value of Twitter/X by 65%

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