How to Buy X Stock (formerly Twitter) [2023]

Summary: X (formerly Twitter) is one of the largest and culturally most relevant social media platforms. However, since its acquisition by Elon Musk in late 2022, it has been a privately held company not listed on any stock exchange. Nonetheless, investors can still invest in X indirectly, for example, by buying shares in Tesla Inc, Musk’s other company, on online exchanges such as Interactive Brokers. 

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What is X?

X, then Twitter, was created and launched in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. Some half a decade later, the platform had more than 100 million active users with 1.6 billion daily search queries.

Today, the site boasts an annual revenue of $3 billion and platforms a number of public figures, politicians, organizations, and governments, having become somewhat of a public utility in the eyes of many. In 2022, its global market share grew by 55%, while Facebook, for example, saw a 12% loss. 

X IPO

X used to be a public company from 2013 to 2022 when it was purchased by Elon Musk and delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Today, it is a privately held company, and the general investing public cannot invest in it directly.

However, investors can seek alternative investment options by either investing in some of Elon Musk’s other companies or by buying shares in other social media platforms, such as Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Snapchat, and others.

How to invest in X

Upon acquiring X, Musk stated that he planned on making the company public again in the next three to five years. How likely that is is hard to tell, and there have been no recent developments or statements issued by the company management.

This is unfortunate for those looking to invest in social media and X in particular, especially those with a stake in related companies like Tesla. Still, those not patient enough to wait for X’s new IPO have some alternative options at their disposal. 

After all, while X still dominates the social media sphere, it is far from being the only platform. Indeed, there are a lot of messaging apps and media hosting sites with promising growth rates, so finding a good alternative to invest in, no matter your tastes and needs as an investor, should not be too difficult.

How to invest in X alternatives

To invest in a solid X alternative, simply take the following steps:

Step 1: Research the market and choose an X alternative

Although it’s not as new as some of the current trends in the market, such as artificial intelligence-based (AI) chatbot ChatGPT developed by OpenAI, social media still has the power to surprise us, and it’s still a rather fast-growing industry. In fact, the number of social media users is expected to reach 4.4 billion by 2025.

With the statistics in mind, it is hardly surprising that the number of investors looking to capitalize on the growth of the industry has more than doubled in the past half a decade. That means that if you want to be a player in the market, you’ll have to do a lot of research, both on various companies you’d like to invest in and the market as a whole, as the hype and public sentiment are still among the major driving forces behind the popularity of most platforms.

Our top 3 picks

The most profitable social media stocks as of 2023 are:

• Meta Platforms (META): Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, which are still the preferred social media platforms among many demographics;

• Snap Inc. (SNAP): Snapchat boasts some 383 million daily users, so the market sentiment is obviously in its favor;

• Pinterest (PINS): Although not as popular as platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest is one of the largest image-sharing media platforms, with over 460 million global monthly users.

Step 2: Set up a brokerage account

To invest in an X alternative, you’ll have to find a good online broker that can give you access to your desired stocks. When choosing a broker, consider its:

• Reputation: Never settle for a broker that has no licenses that will guarantee the platform is legit. Most commonly, investors look for licenses issued by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Of course, good user reviews are a plus;

• Fees and commissions: Brokers with low fees and no commissions, such as Interactive Brokers, are usually favored;

• Range of offerings: More enthusiastic investors will welcome a broad range of financial instruments, such as stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, options, etc;

• Withdrawal and deposit options: The more deposit and withdrawal options, the better, as you won’t have to rely on third-party payment services when funding your account; 

• Account minimums: High account minimums are usually a red flag.

Where to buy stocks

Our recommended broker is Interactive Brokers (IB). IB is a well-regulated platform with almost 50 years of experience in the market, 2 million users trading in more than 200 countries, and licenses issued by bodies such as The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Moreover, it offers features such as:

• Commission-free stock trading;
• Stocks, options, futures, Forex, bonds, and ETFs;
• Global stock-trading on 90+ market centers;
• Up to 4.58% interest on cash balances of $10k or more;
• Fractional shares;
• No minimum deposits;
• Low commissions starting at $0;
• Additional income on fully paid shares;
• Lowest financing rates for margin accounts.

Best Platform for Worldwide Stock Trading & Investing

• Highly trusted multi-asset broker with clients in over 200 countries

• Trade on 150 markets globally from a single platform (stocks, ETFs, futures, currencies, crypto & more)

• Low commissions starting at $0 with no platform fees or account minimums

• Easily fund your account and trade assets in 26 currencies

• IBKR pays up to 4.58% interest on cash balances of $10k or more

Up to 4.58% interest on balance*

Get Started

Step 3: Deposit funds into your account

Next, you can add some funds. Interactive Brokers offers users a solid number of payment methods they can use to fund their accounts. You can link it to your bank account, scan physical checks, transfer funds from Wise, etc. You find all the necessary information on the broker’s funding page.

Step 4: Place a trade

Finally, you can start buying stocks with the funds you’ve transferred to your account. With Interactive Brokers, you can:

1. Log in on the website;

2. Click on the Trade button on the main dashboard;

3. Look for the desired ticker symbol in the Enter a Symbol search bar (e.g., type META for Meta Platforms, PINS for Pinterest, or TSLA for Tesla);

4. Specify the number of stocks you want to buy;

5. Submit the trade.

Bonus step: Monitor and manage your investment

You may have the stock in your portfolio, but your investment journey is far from over. The world of social media is highly dynamic, so it will be wise to monitor your investment and see how it performs in the market compared to some of the competition.

The same applies if you’ve invested in some X-associated companies such as Tesla. If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you’ll know that Elon Musk has been known to come under a lot of flak due to his marketing and management decisions,

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.

FAQs about how to buy X stock

Best Platform for Worldwide Stock Trading & Investing

• Highly trusted multi-asset broker with clients in over 200 countries

• Trade on 150 markets globally from a single platform (stocks, ETFs, futures, currencies, crypto & more)

• Low commissions starting at $0 with no platform fees or account minimums

• Easily fund your account and trade assets in 26 currencies

• IBKR pays up to 4.58% interest on cash balances of $10k or more

Up to 4.58% interest on balance*

Get Started