Twitter’s initial public offering in 2013 was hosted by the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE.
Twitter announced in October 2013 that it would list its shares on the NYSE, ending speculation that the company might choose Nasdaq. The decision attracted attention because Facebook’s 2012 Nasdaq debut had been affected by technical problems and trading delays. Twitter’s listing therefore became part of a broader rivalry between the two major U.S. stock exchanges.
The IPO took place on November 7, 2013. Twitter had priced 70 million shares at US$26 each the previous day, with Goldman Sachs serving as the lead underwriter. On the first trading day, the shares opened at US$26 but quickly rose, closing at US$44.90. That sharp increase gave Twitter a market valuation of roughly US$31 billion and made the debut one of the most closely watched technology offerings of the year.
A common mix-up is confusing the exchange with the stock ticker. NYSE identifies the marketplace where the shares traded; TWTR was the symbol used to identify Twitter’s stock. Twitter remained publicly traded until Elon Musk completed his acquisition of the company in October 2022.