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Can I Buy Twitter (TWTR) Stocks & Shares?

Kevin Pratt,  Johanna Leggatt
Editor,  Editor

Published: Apr 13, 2023, 3:00pm

Editorial note: Forbes Advisor Australia may earn revenue from this story in the manner disclosed here. Read our advice disclaimer here.
Can I Buy Twitter (TWTR) Stocks & Shares?

Table of Contents

It has been far from a smooth leadership transition at Twitter, with new owner Elon Musk promptly firing thousands of staff, including key executives, and reports circulating that Twitter plans to shutter its Australian operations entirely. Adding fuel to the fire of speculation is recent news that Twitter no longer technically exists as a registered company—Musk has merged it with a shell firm called X Corp—sparking conjecture as to what he plans to do with the site. Musk is both president of the firm and its parent, X Holdings Corp.

Barely a week after Musk took ownership of Twitter in October last year, he also announced plans to trim the 8,000-strong workforce by firing thousands of employees, suspending badge access to workers and shutting the office temporarily.

“In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce,” said the email, cited by Reuters.

Musk fired the company’s leadership team of chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, as part of the $US44 billion close.

He has also fired general counsel Sean Edgett.

Twitter contractor Melissa Ingle was one of many let go without notification

“I love the platform and I really enjoyed working at the company and trying to make it better,” she wrote on Twitter.

“And I’m just really fearful of what’s going to slip through the cracks.”

In a rare interview given to the BBC on Wednesday, Musk confirmed the scale of the employee cuts: the company now employs just 1,500 staffers, down from some 8,000.

He defended the decision, telling the network: “The issue is like the company’s going to go bankrupt if we do not cut costs immediately,” he said.

“This is not a caring-uncaring situation. It’s like if the whole ship sinks then nobody’s got a job.”

In January, Twitter Australia’s boos, Angus Keene, was forced to hose down speculation that the company was pulling out of Australia entirely.

The Sydney Morning Herald had reported that Twitter was “in the process of ending its physical presence in Australia” by sacking the staff that survived previous culls. Many of Twitter Australia’s communications, marketing and news content teams have been laid off.

According to news industry site, Mumbrella, however, Keene sent an email to Australian agency staff reassuring them that Twitter was not pulling out of Australia. It is believed staff are working from home and the company has not renewed its commercial lease in Sydney.

This is in stark contrast to Musk’s reported distaste for remote working: has instructed US staff to return to the office, and said that free lunches—one of the many past perks of life as a Twitter employee—were off the table.

The tumultuous take-over comes on the back of a protracted on-again, off-again deal to buy Twitter. In early 2022, the Twitter Board recommended that shareholders approve Musk’s offer to buy Twitter, however, in May, Musk put his deal to acquire Twitter on hold, citing issues around the number of alleged spam accounts. At that time, he had asserted that Twitter needed to prove that fewer than 5% of active users were fake.

Twitter responded with legal action and Bret Taylor, Twitter’s chairman, previously said (in a tweet) that he was determined to complete the takeover on the original terms: “The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”

Musk attempted to delay the trial until November, but a US judge ruled in September that the case would go ahead in Delaware from October 17.

However, lawyers for Musk confirmed in a court filing on October 4 that Musk will proceed with the deal and he was willing to buy Twitter at the stated price of $54.20 a share. Musk de-listed the company and took it private.

The de-listing had huge implications for shareholders. Trading in the shares on the New York Stock Exchange were suspended, meaning no new purchases of the stock can be made.

Shareholders were paid $54.20 for each share they held up to the time of acquisition.

Buying US shares

If you’re keen to gain exposure to international shares, you should be able to buy US shares through most brokerage accounts, but be aware that, unlike local shares, you will not be entitled to a franking credit, because the US does not share our dividend imputation system.

You will be asked to complete a W-8BEN form (valid for three years) which allows you to benefit from a reduction in withholding tax for qualifying US dividends from 30% to 15%. This form will need to be updated any time your details change, including your address. If you don’t complete this form you are liable to be hit with a higher withholding tax rate.

Holding US shares also carries exposure to foreign exchange risk. If the Australian dollar strengthens against the US dollar, your shares will be worth less in AUD (and vice versa).

What to Remember when Buying Shares

First, and most importantly, there are no guarantees when it comes to share prices. They can and often do fluctuate minute by minute, gains can quickly become losses, and in the worst case scenario, you can lose all of your investment.

In other words, don’t buy Twitter or any other shares thinking you are on to a sure-fire winner. There is always risk involved, and you should be fully aware that you could make irretrievable losses.

However, if you understand and accept the risks, you could view share investment as a potential way to make more of a profit on your capital than you would be putting your cash on deposit.

Here are a few golden rules:

  • Know your limits: when buying shares, only invest what you can afford to lose
  • Stay secure: build a solid financial base for your finances before venturing into investment – at the very least, have three months’ worth of normal outgoings as a cash reserve in a rainy day fund
  • Avoid ‘leverage’: this is where you borrow to invest. This take the basic risk of investment and makes it toxic since there’s a danger of losing someone else’s money, not just your own
  • Minimise charges: as you’ll have seen from the articles above, the charges levied by investment platforms and apps can eat into the value of your holdings, so scrutinise these with care
  • Spread your bets: experienced investors reduce their risk profiles by investing across a range of companies, or by buying funds which themselves have exposure to a range of investments
  • Do your research: knowing when to sell is as important as knowing when to buy, so keep an eye on your portfolio to see if action is required – your platform or app should be able to help in this regard
  • Think long term: an opportunity such as that presented by Twitter is eye-catching, but shares investment should be regarded as a long-term – ideally, five-year – proposition to allow time for sustained market growth.

Note: investing in companies comes with no guarantees. When buying company shares, it’s possible to lose some, and very occasionally, all of your money. Past performance is no prediction of future performance and this article is not intended as a recommendation of any kind.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I still buy shares in Twitter?

No. Since Elon Musk bought the site late in 2022, the social media company has been taken private, and de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange. Shareholders were paid $54.20 for each share they held up to the time of company acquisition.

What is Elon charging $8 for?

Musk has proposed to charge users of Twitter $8 a month for their account to receive a blue check mark which indicates the person is a verified source. The check was usually reserved for accounts of journalists, actors or celebrities, who were likely to be impersonated. The Twitter Blue Service has already been mired in controversy, with BBC reports that the Taliban has started paying for ticks as part of the Twitter Blue service.

How many blue checks are there on Twitter?

There are now estimated to be some 400,000 blue checks on Twitter, including Musk himself.

Who left Twitter after Elon Musk took over?

A lot of people it would seem. There are some estimates from Bot Sentinel that more than 875,000 users deactivated their accounts between October 27 and November 1, while a  number of celebrities, including musicians Sara Bareilles and singer Toni Braxton, have also left.

When did Musk take over Twitter?

Elon Musk assumed ownership of Twitter on October 27, whereby Musk promptly Tweeted that the “bird had been freed”.

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Kevin Pratt Editor

I am the UK editor for Forbes Advisor. I have been writing about all aspects of household finance for over 30 years, aiming to provide information that will help readers make good choices with their money. The financial world can be complex and challenging, so I'm always striving to make it as accessible, manageable and rewarding as possible.

Johanna Leggatt Editor

Johanna Leggatt is the Lead Editor for Forbes Advisor, Australia. She has more than 20 years' experience as a print and digital journalist, including with Australian Associated Press (AAP) and The Sun-Herald in Sydney. She is a former digital sub-editor on The Guardian and The Telegraph in the UK, and lives in Melbourne.