Twitter IPO: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Twitter may be one of the most popular social media companies online, but it’s still a private company. It interesting that Twitter has managed to hold off on it’s IPO for so long, and has managed to resist acquisition offers from huge tech companies like Apple. Here’s what you need to know about a potential Twitter IPO.

1. Twitter Hired A Morgan Stanley Banker Recently

twitter ipo
Reuters today reported that Twitter hired a Morgan Stanley banker, Cynthia Gaylor, who specializes in IPO and mergers and acquisitions.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Gaylor led “technology execution efforts” at Morgan Stanley, including equity and debt securities issues, as managing director of mergers and acquisitions at its global technology group.

She has also advised on high-profile deals such as Amazon.com Inc’s purchase of Zappos and Google Inc’s acquisition of AdMob.

2. Twitter Execs are Adamant That They Don’t Want To Go Public Yet

For the past 2 years, rumors about a Twitter IPO have been circulating. But, just a few days ago, co-founder and ex CEO Jack Dorsey spoke to Bloomberg about a potential IPO. “A lot of people think of this as a goal you have to get to but it’s a milestone,” he said on a bench outside a Manhattan café. “If you think about it as a goal you’re rushing towards it and then stop, and that’s not the way to build a timeless company.”

3. Twitter Could Be Making $1 Billion This Year

According to multiple news reports, analytics companies are projecting that Twitter may make as much as $1 billion in ad-sales in 2013. That is a HUGE figure for a company that only a few years ago was having trouble convincing investors how they can make money. This figure is almost double what Twitter made last year — in 2012, Twitter made $583 million in ad sales.

4. Twitter Was Almost Bought By Apple

Last year, there were rumors that Apple and Twitter executives discussed the idea of Apple buying Twitter. It makes sense because Twitter and Apple aren’t competitors, like Apple and Facebook, as I previously wrote. Twitter can help Apple understand the ever-changing world of social media (Apple doesn’t get it…remember Ping?) and Apple can help Twitter reach unprecedented heights in terms of users, popularity, and deals with potential advertisers.

5. Twitter’s IPO Would Be Better Than Facebook’s

Don’t worry, if Twitter does go public, it’ll fair better Facebook’s abysmal IPO. The reason? Twitter understand mobile development. According to Forbes, out of the projected $1 billion ad sales, 53 percent will come from mobile advertising, and improvement from almost zero mobile ad revenue two years ago. While Facebook has finally ramped up it’s mobile development, Twitter has already mastered how to monetize mobile growth.