The evolution of corporate twitter usage

Abstract

AbstractWe study the evolution of corporate Twitter usage from 2006 to 2021 using a comprehensive dataset of over 19 million tweets covering publicly listed US firms. Overall, we find that Twitter usage has changed substantially over the past 15 years, with a broader set of firms using Twitter and with more firms using Twitter to communicate financial information. The stock market response to tweets, measured using abnormal returns and trading volume, is positive and significant in all periods but has declined over time. Retweeting and “liking” behavior has increased substantially in recent years, suggesting broader dissemination. In addition, although firms continue to use press releases for the most economically important information, our results suggest that firms are increasingly substituting tweets for press releases. Moreover, we find that firms continue to be strategic with both the content and timing of their Twitter usage. Collectively, our findings provide useful context for the interpretation of prior studies and valuable information for the design of future studies on the corporate use of social media.