X CEO Linda Yaccarino Says 1,500 Advertisers Have Returned

X CEO Linda Yaccarino has reportedly expressed optimism about the platform’s future profitability.

Speaking Wednesday (Sept. 27) at Vox Media’s Code conference, Yaccarino, who has been leading X for 100 days, defended the company’s progress under owner Elon Musk, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Yaccarino said X could reach profitability early in 2024, according to the report.

She also addressed questions about declining active app users, stating that key metrics around time spent on X were trending positively, the report said.

Yaccarino also mentioned that 1,500 advertisers have returned to the platform in the last 12 weeks, with 90% of the company’s top 100 advertisers making a comeback, per the report.

However, X is currently facing several challenges, according to the report. Lawsuits alleging failure to pay rent on offices and severance to laid-off employees have put additional strain on the company.

Retaining advertisers has also been a struggle due to concerns about appearing next to unsuitable content, the report said.

Yaccarino highlighted the implementation of new content moderation tools and features to prevent ads from appearing next to certain content, which were introduced after Musk’s acquisition of the company formerly known as Twitter, per the report.

X will continue rolling out brand-safety tools for advertisers, as the platform is committed to free expression while also protecting brands, Yaccarino said in August.

Brand-safety tools rolled out by X in recent months include a “keyword avoidance tool” that enables brands to better control the content their ads are appearing next to, and another tool now being tested that involves settings around sensitive content.

“Think about it in terms of brand safety: I wrap a security blanket around you, my brand, my chief marketing officer, and say your ads will only air next to content that is appropriate for you, of your choice,” Yaccarino said during a live audio event held Aug. 10 on X.

Before joining X as CEO, Yaccarino was an ad executive at NBCUniversal for 12 years.

When announcing in May that Yaccarino would be joining the company, Musk said in a tweet: “@LindaYacc will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology. Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.”