President Donald Trump has made Twitter one of his key speaking platforms, inspiring critics, traders, and supporters to follow the account avidly, trawling for clues on the administrations next steps.
That’s great news for the ailing social media company, according to one analyst. The stock of the social media company has fallen over 72% since its all-time high in early 2014.
Now thanks to Trump and his 24.4 million followers (15.1 million via his @POTUS handle), more Twitter users are using the social media site on a daily basis, says BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield in a Wednesday note, just a day before Twitter is slated to report earnings.
“It is undeniable that Twitter has been thrust into the global zeitgeist following the U.S. Presidential Election in November 2016,” Greenfield wrote. ” Trump is giving consumers a reason to learn how to use Twitter, furthering the reason for public figures etc. to put content on the platform. Twitter is in effect getting a second chance to attract and retain users.”
Greenfield, who upgraded the stock to a “Buy,” also backed his thinking with data from October to February. According to numbers from App Annie, Twitter became a top 20 download in that period. Meanwhile, a research team at CivicScience found that the percentage of U.S. adults using Twitter on a daily basis has also risen from 13% to 15% over the past year. That study was based on a survey of over 1,000 people.
But Greenfield doesn’t expect these tailwinds to boost the company’s current earnings, at least not until the second half of 2017.
Shares of Twitter rose 2.2% on Wednesday following Greenfield’s research note.