Why Twitter’s Fat Cash Reserves Make It Unique

Any problem that might arise for Twitter, the company’s at least got plenty of money to throw at it.

CNBC has calculated, based on research by S&P Capital IQ, that at the rate the social media company is spending its $3.5 billion in cash, it would take 412 years for that money to run out.

That’s a timeline, the outlet points out, that exceeds what other companies can claim by centuries — and none that come close are in the social media space (CNBC says that the handful that approach having enough money to almost last as long as Twitter would are in the areas of energy and commodities).

According to CNBC’s analysis, the industries whose companies have the biggest cash stockpiles are automotive, beverages, energy, tobacco and electronics. Viewing Twitter, for its purposes, as being in the “miscellaneous” category, the outlet finds the social media company’s $3.5 billion putting it in between the other “miscellaneous” names of Yahoo (which has $5.9 billion in cash) and Netflix (which has $2.3 billion) but notes that a major differentiating factor is that Twitter is losing cash at a rate more than a hundred times slower than are those other two companies.

“I don’t think, at this point, anyone is sitting around and wondering whether or not Twitter is going to be able to sustain its operations,” Scott Kessler, deputy global director of equity research at S&P Capital IQ and SNL, told CNBC. However — given concern regarding the departure of several executives and buyout rumors — he added that Twitter has “an opportunity to use some of that cash to expand and enhance their assets and platform and features and functionality to make a more compelling company and offering.”