Elon Musk's X is pulling big-name advertisers back

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Happy Valentine's Day! In the spirit of the holiday, here's something you might fall in love with: A new Apple product. Tim Cook teased the launch of something set for next Wednesday.

In today's big story, new and old advertisers are coming to X more than two years after Elon Musk's dramatic takeover.

What's on deck

Markets: Three charts that show Robinhood's incredible rise over the past 12 months.

Tech: Meta CTO says employees who think 'everyone has to like' its policy changes should 'quit' and 'consider working elsewhere.'

Business: Everything you need to know about new US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

But first, back like they never left.

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The big story

Eyeing X

After a tumultuous few years, X is pulling advertisers back.

The platform formerly known as Twitter has grown its pool of advertisers in recent months, according to an analysis by Business Insider's Lara O'Reilly. Big-name brands like Apple have returned to the platform alongside newcomers.

It's a notable turnaround for a company that has, at times, been outwardly hostile to advertisers following Elon Musk's 2022 buyout. X has sued several big advertisers for what it claims was a coordinated ad boycott.

To be clear, the turnaround isn't complete. While X enjoyed a 15% year-over-year increase in the number of companies buying ads, its estimated US ad revenue dropped 28% during that same time period, according to research firm MediaRadar.

However, X is also leaning on ad tech partners, as Lara has previously reported, which tends to lead to lower prices compared to using an internal sales team.

Even if advertisers are cautious about working with X, they might not have many other social media options.

Meta's recent policy changes around content moderation were somewhat inspired by X. TikTok's future remains in limbo. And alternatives like Bluesky are still a fraction of the size of X.

There's another good data point for X.

Banks have seen increased interest from investors in the debt they hold from financing Musk's 2022 deal. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Morgan Stanley was upping its offering of X debt from $3 billion to $4.74 billion. Big names like Pimco and Citadel have already jumped in, according to The Wall Street Journal.

(It's also worth noting that X's stake in xAI, Musk's buzzy AI startup, was also reportedly used to attract potential investors.)

Not too long ago, X's debt was basically considered nuclear waste. The seven banks that loaned Musk the $13 billion to buy Twitter were unable to move the loans, leaving it to clog up their balance sheets.

Of course, there's another factor that has nothing to do with X's performance enticing advertisers to return and investors to buy its debt: Musk's close ties to President Donald Trump.

Doing business with X could keep a company in Musk's good graces. And staying on good terms with the guy who has the ear of the most powerful person in the world certainly isn't a bad thing.

News brief

• TikTok is back in US app stores for Apple and Android.
• Trump calls for 'reciprocal tariffs' on nations that levy tariffs on the US.
• 75,000 federal employees took Trump's buyout, fewer than the White House's goal.
• Sam Altman pulls Elon Musk's OpenAI takeover bid into court.
• Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni reach an agreement of sorts: Neither wants to stop fighting in court.
• State Department removes mention of 'armored Teslas' from its 2025 procurement list, replaces it with 'armored electric vehicles.'

• US congressmen sound the alarm on 'secret' Apple order from UK. Read their letter.

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  3 things in markets

1. Robinhood's rapid rise. The brokerage's earnings blew past analyst expectations, the latest in an incredible run that's seen its shares up almost 440% over the past year. These three charts show how a surge in newly funded accounts and a crypto boom have helped the app.

2. Want to invest like the world's best? Start here. Every few months, BI takes a look at where top investors are betting at least 20% of their portfolio. Warren Buffett has continued to reduce his position in Apple stocks, while Baupost Group's Seth Klarman has bought up more shares of telecommunications company Liberty Global. Here are nine stocks whales are making big bets on.

3. Betting on China. Druckenmiller protégé Beeneet Kothari of Tekne Capital isn't afraid of investing in China despite President Trump's trade war. A lot of Western capital has already left the country, softening the blow to Chinese stocks, he said. So, where to start? China has been getting a lot of attention lately due to DeepSeek, and robotics is another strength.

3 things in tech

1. xAI has been working on a 'DeepSearch' feature, employees say. Data annotators at Elon Musk's AI startup have been working on the project, dubbed "DeepSearch," to train Grok to perform multi-step research projects the same way a human might, two workers said. It could compete with features from rivals OpenAI and Google, but it's unclear what stage the project is at or whether xAI will ultimately release something.

2. "Leave or disagree and commit." That's what Meta's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth recently told staffers in response to employee concerns over Meta's recent policy changes. The company changed its approach to internal Q&A sessions to limit leaks to the media. In Meta's internal forum, Bosworth said, "if your view is 'everyone has to like all the policies we have and if they don't it is appropriate to leak' then I think you should consider working elsewhere."

3. The Amazon of travel. Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky said the app should "be one place you go for all of your traveling and living needs," in an earnings call on Thursday. The company plans to invest $200 million to $250 million in launching new businesses and offerings, which it says will be rolled out in May. Its stock price jumped 15% after the announcement in after hours trading.

3 things in business

1. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to call the shots on health policy. The new US health secretary may be known for his skepticism over vaccines — despite denying an anti-vaccine stance in his confirmation hearings — but RFK Jr. will have even more policy issues on his plate. Here's what the appointee could mean for you and your family.

2. Dozens of Office of Personnel Management probationary workers were abruptly fired. Around 60 employees were terminated in a group video call Thursday afternoon and told their work accounts would be deactivated by 3 pm ET, which gave them about 20 minutes. Two employees told BI that union representatives were not present in the meeting.

3. President Trump wants his education secretary pick to "put herself out of a job." Trump hasn't been shy about wanting to shut down the Department of Education. That could have a ripple effect on grants, student loans, outcomes data, and discrimination claims. And if Trump's plan goes through, other agencies may need to bear the burden.

In other news

• Two maps show the highest marriage and birth rates are in red states. They could get more funding for infrastructure under Trump.
• The Big Four are sticking with hybrid work. Here are the RTO policies of Deloitte, KPMG, EY, and PwC.
• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is an unexpected winner in the data center construction boom.
• A disruptive passenger threatened to break a flight attendant's jaw then yelled in the captain's face after abusing fellow travelers, FBI says.
• I've played a werewolf and a billionaire in buzzy 'mini-dramas.' It's the first time acting has been my primary income.
• A startup that helps influencers launch their own apps pulls in a $150 million investment.
• Existential question: What's the difference between a YouTube series and a Netflix one?
• Apple's Alibaba AI deal is unlikely to be a silver bullet for its China woes.
• 'Captain America: Brave New World' has one end-credits scene — here's what it means for future Marvel movies.

• Axel Springer CEO talks trade, Trump, AI, and the future of media.

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What's happening today

• Vice President JD Vance meets Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich.

• 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend begins.

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  The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.