Twitter shares jump on market debut
Shares in the micro-blogging site Twitter opened at $45.10 each in the first minutes of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Advertisement
That is a 73% jump from the initial asking price of $26 a share, and it means the company is now valued at a little over $31bn (£19bn).
More than 13 million shares were traded once they became available an hour after the stock exchange opened.
It is the biggest technology listing since Facebook in 2012.
Twitter floated on the NYSE and not, as some initially expected, the technology-rich Nasdaq exchange, where the likes of Facebook are listed.
It was a big win for the NYSE, which decorated its exterior with banners promoting the offering on Thursday.
Twitter has more than 230 million users, but is yet to make a profit.
Rollercoaster ride
Shares in newly-listed companies are often volatile on their first day of trading.
Within minutes, Twitter's stock price soared more than 80% before falling slightly.
When Facebook launched on Nasdaq, its shares were priced initially at $38 each. The stock soared within hours of its debut to a high of $45. But its price later slumped.
It only recovered those losses by 11 September 2013, when shares again touched $45.
Its initial public offering (IPO) was also marred by technological glitches and delays.
To prevent Twitter's stock sale from having a similar fate, the NYSE ran tests on 26 October using larger-than-normal share volumes.
Financial scrutiny
Twitter is selling 70 million shares, which will raise more than $1.82bn.
The company, which invites users to send tweets in 140 characters or less, has 232 million active users. According to its IPO documents, these users send 500 million tweets a day.
Twitter's financials have been under greater scrutiny since it announced its plan to float, especially given that the company is still loss-making.
It lost $69m in the first six months of 2013, on revenues of $254m. About 85% of revenues come from advertising on its site, and more than 75% of Twitter users access the site from their mobile phone.
The company's co-founder Evan Williams has a 10% stake in Twitter, making him its biggest shareholder. That stake is worth more than a billion dollars.
Jack Dorsey, another co-founder, also stands to make a fortune from the IPO, as his 4% stake is worth more than half a billion dollars.
Another co-founder, Biz Stone, is thought to have made millions of dollars by selling share stakes over the last few years.
