X Struggles as CEO Exits, Usage Drops Amid Rising Competition
▼ Summary
– X CEO Linda Yaccarino’s departure comes as the company faces growing competition, with its daily active users declining by 10% year-over-year as of Q2 2025.
– Threads is gaining ground on mobile, reaching 115.1 million daily active users in June 2025 (127.8% YoY growth), while X saw a 15.2% decline to 132 million.
– X maintains higher user engagement, with users spending 31 minutes daily (vs. 8 minutes on Threads) and 48% interacting daily (vs. 33% for Threads).
– Threads’ rapid growth (160% YoY increase in daily active users) is fueled by Meta’s ecosystem, new features, and an expanding ads business, including video ads.
– X’s ad ecosystem has recovered under Yaccarino, with U.S. ad spending up 62% YoY in H1 2025, led by media, shopping, and gaming verticals.
The social media landscape faces a major shift as X navigates leadership changes and intensifying competition from rival platforms. Recent data reveals a 10% year-over-year decline in X’s daily active users during Q2 2025, signaling challenges for the Elon Musk-owned platform despite maintaining a sizable lead over competitors like Threads and Bluesky.
Mobile usage trends show Threads rapidly closing the gap, with 115.1 million daily active users in June 2025, a staggering 127.8% increase from the previous year. While X still leads with 132 million daily mobile users, its growth has dipped by 15.2%, raising questions about its long-term dominance.
Engagement remains X’s strongest asset, with users spending an average of 31 minutes daily on the platform, far surpassing Threads’ 8-minute average. Nearly half of X’s global monthly users interact daily, compared to just 33% for Threads. However, Threads’ explosive 160% year-over-year growth suggests it’s gaining momentum, fueled by Meta’s ecosystem and aggressive feature rollouts.
Advertising presents another battleground. Threads benefits from Meta’s established ad infrastructure, recently expanding video ads and global advertiser access. X, meanwhile, has seen a rebound in ad revenue under outgoing CEO Linda Yaccarino, with U.S. spending up 62% in early 2025. Key sectors like media, shopping, and gaming now drive more ad dollars, though Meta’s dominance in digital ads remains formidable.
Meta’s past struggles with standalone apps make Threads’ success notable. Unlike failed experiments such as Lasso and IGTV, Threads leverages Instagram’s user base and Meta’s ad expertise. With 350 million monthly active users, it’s now a legitimate contender, though X reportedly claims 600 million monthly users.
The coming months will test whether X can stabilize its user base and ad business amid leadership transitions, or if Threads’ rapid growth reshapes the social media hierarchy.
(Source: TechCrunch)
