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Twitter would have earned more money over the past few months if Elon Musk hadn’t been in the picture. At least, that’s what the company says in its Q2 earnings release this morning, citing Musk as a factor in its revenue results, which fell year over year to $1.18 billion from $1.19 billion. That’s not the only reason Twitter is experiencing revenue problems. The company also cites ad industry problems — see Snap’s poor performance yesterday — and the general economic environment. But “uncertainty related to the pending acquisition of Twitter by an affiliate of Elon Musk” is the most Twitter-specific problem on the list. Musk entered into an agreement to buy Twitter in April, and he’s been trying to back out of it since just weeks afterward. Finally, Musk filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in an attempt to formally end the deal earlier this month, and the two parties are now headed to court in October. Twitter hopes to make Musk follow through with the acquisition, which would come at a premium over the company’s current share price. For the time being, though, the chaotic acquisition seems to be making it more difficult for Twitter to sell…

Twitter reported a quarterly loss Friday as revenue slipped even as its number of users climbed. The social media company's latest quarterly earnings figures offered a glimpse into how the social media business has performed during a months-long negotiation with billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk over whether he will take over the company. The company lost $270 million in the April-June period after revenue slipped 1% to $1.18 billion, reflecting advertising industry headwinds, as well as uncertainty" over Musk's acquisition bid. The number of daily active users rose 16.6% to 237.8 million compared with the same period a year before. Twitter chalked up the gains to “ongoing product improvements and global conversation around current events." Overshadowing Twitter’s latest sales results is its legal fight with Musk to make good on his April promise to buy the company for $44 billion. Twitter last week sued Musk to complete the deal and both sides are bracing for an October courtroom trial to resolve the dispute. Given the pending acquisition, Twitter said it wouldn't hold its usual quarterly earnings conference call or issue a shareholder letter. The April-June fiscal quarter encompassed a tumultuous three months for Twitter, starting with the April 4…

Emily Horos   | Arizona RepublicAn NFL fan took to Twitter to sell some J.J. Watt merchandise only to be answered by the Arizona Cardinals player himself. According to the tweet, Jennifer Simpson was selling a pair of Watt shoes and a jersey to raise money for her grandfather's funeral. She tagged Watt's Twitter account with photos of the items for sale. Watt responded by telling her to keep her items because he would help with the funeral costs. Don’t sell your shoes and jersey, we’ll help with the funeral.I’m sorry for your loss.🙏🏼 https://t.co/gMttmVGZCL— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 21, 2022According to the user's profile, she is a Texans and Astros fan, who before her interaction with Watt had just 70 followers. She responded to Watt's retweet with an expression of gratitude. More: Arizona Cardinals training camp information: What to know before going to State Farm StadiumMore: McManaman: 4 things I want to see when Cardinals open camp, starting Thursday with rookiesReach the reporter at emily.horos@azcentral.com or 602-444-2426. Follow her on Twitter @ejhoros. Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.  Facebook Twitter Email

The Twitter vs Elon Musk trial is set to start in October after a judge granted the social network's request to speed up legal proceedings. Twitter sued the Tesla supremo last week, accusing him of breaching the terms of his offer to buy the website. Musk promised to take over the biz for $44 billion in cash, by offering $54.20 a share for Twitter stock, and is now trying to wriggle out of the deal without meeting his obligations, it was alleged. The tech tycoon, who waived the need for any due diligence, had planned to secure those billions by taking out loans from banks, getting help from his rich peers, and selling a chunk of his Tesla shares. However, the stock market took a dive amid economic anxiety and a drop in confidence. His Tesla shares are now worth a lot less, making the acquisition more and more expensive for him. Musk began backing away from the deal, publicly accusing Twitter of not being truthful about the number of fake bot accounts on its platform. Twitter denies any wrongdoing, and wants the world's richest man to either cough up the money for its shares – or pay the $1…

An earlier report made by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times speculated that the Buccaneers' coaching staff were not too thrilled with the shape that running back Leonard Fournette showed up in when mandatory minicamp kicked off. “Coaches were not happy, and that’s an understatement, when he didn’t participate in the OTAs, but then he shows up at the mandatory minicamp weighing damn near 260,” Stroud said via his podcast Sports Day Tampa Bay. “And that’s not a good sign for a guy that you just spent a three-year contract on.”READ MORE: Rob Gronkowski's girlfriend Camille Kostek does not think his second retirement is permanentFournette has bet on himself the past two seasons with the Bucs after many were writing him off after his first contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. It is obvious that Lenny has put in the work to earn the 3-yr./$21 million contract this past off-season. Now that he has it, will he be able to maintain that level of competitive want-to heading into 2023?We should just ask Fournette himself, as he has since taken to his Twitter account to express his thoughts on the reports.First, it started with a since-deleted tweet, that was captured by…

The Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in Twitter’s favor Tuesday in the social network’s legal fight with Elon Musk, setting an October 2022 trial date for the company’s case against the billionaire. Twitter last week filed suit against Musk, seeking to force the mega-billionaire complete his $44 billion buyout agreement. That came after Musk on July 8 told Twitter he wanted to nix the deal over his suspicions that Twitter has more spam and bot accounts than it acknowledges. In its lawsuit, Twitter alleged the spam/bot issue is a red herring — and that Musk is suffering from buyer’s remorse, because the deal has become more expensive for him personally given the drop in Tesla’s stock price. Twitter had asked the court for an expedited hearing, with a trial that would conclude before the end of September 2022. Musk’s legal team, in a filing last Friday, argued that the case should go to trial no sooner than Feb. 13, 2023. In her ruling Tuesday, Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery set the case as a five-day trial that will occur in October, with the parties to work out the details. Twitter had argued the case should…

A Delaware Chancery Court judge on Tuesday granted Twitter (TWTR) a five-day trial slated for October in its case seeking to force Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk to buy the social media site for $44 billion after he tried to terminate the deal last month.Twitter had sought to expedite the trial so the matter could be resolved before the deal's Oct. 24, 2022 “drop dead” date — a deadline that, if reached before the transaction is finalized, allows either party to walk away. Twitter wanted to resolve the case in a four-day trial in September, while Musk wanted to push the case until February."The reality is that delay threatens irreparable harm to the seller, Twitter, for the reasons I described earlier: The longer the delay, the greater the risk. Given this reality I think a schedule closer to the norm is in order. For this reason, I think we should go to trial in October of this year," Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick ruled on Tuesday.'A cloud of Musk-created doubt'Musk contends he's backing out of the deal because Twitter isn't providing him with data regarding the number of fake accounts, known as bots, that operate on its platform — and in some…

An image of Elon Musk is seen on smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comJuly 19 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) will get an October trial in its legal fight to hold Elon Musk to his $44 billion takeover, after a Delaware judge said on Tuesday the social media company deserved a quick resolution of the deal's uncertainty.The ruling is a blow to Musk, who pushed for a trial in February to allow for an extensive investigation into his claims that Twitter has misrepresented the number of fake or spam accounts.The question of whether Twitter's user numbers are inflated is core to his contention that he can walk away from the deal. The company, which had requested a September trial, says the issue is a distraction and deal terms require Musk to pay up.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTwitter had argued that delaying the trial into the next year could threaten deal financing.Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Court of Chancery in Delaware said on Tuesday that the company deserved a swift decision on its claims."The reality is delay threatens irreparable harm to…

'Mad Money' host Jim Cramer and the 'Squawk on the Street' team break down the Twitter-Musk lawsuit's latest developments.

The other two outcomes, which are together much more likely, Ives says, would see Musk either buy Twitter for the agreed $44 billion, or walk away after reaching a settlement in which he pays the company damages of between $5 billion and $10 billion. “The stock is factoring in some significant chance that Musk will ultimately have to pay Twitter a major settlement well north of $1 billion, and possibly still have to buy the company at the agreed upon price,” Ives says.The prospect of Twitter’s upside-down logic prevailing and Musk ending up owning the social network he now appears to disdain has some employees and users worried. “There is no one to pump the brakes on this deal even when it’s clear Musk is the last thing in the world Twitter needs,” says Brianna Wu, a former video game developer and founder of progressive political action group Rebellion PAC. “The investors want it to go through. The board stands to make billions, and they’ll go to court to force the issue.”How does a business deal agreed by both sides and backed by some of the world’s largest banks turn into such a mess? Javier Marcos Cuevas, associate professor at…