X’s UK Revenues Plunge as Advertisers Retreat and Safety Scrutiny Intensifies

X’s UK business took a significant hit in 2024, with revenues dropping by 58.3% year on year, from £69.1m in 2023 to £28.9m in 2024. 

The figures were disclosed in accounts filed at Companies House for the year ending 31 December 2024, offering a stark snapshot of what happens when a platform’s commercial engine is powered largely by advertising, and major brands decide they would rather sit on the sidelines.

Profitability also weakened. Pre-tax profits fell from £2.2m to £767,000 over the same period, continuing a downward trend from the £8.5m in pre-tax profits recorded in 2022, the year Elon Musk acquired the platform when it was still known as Twitter.

The core issue: brand safety, reputation and moderation

In its filing, X attributed the downturn primarily to reduced advertising spend from large brands, pointing directly at ongoing concerns about brand safety, reputation, and content moderation. 

The message is clear: for big advertisers, the risk calculation hasn’t been working in X’s favour.

X also said it is taking proactive steps to address advertiser concerns, including building brand safety tools, investing in platform safety and content moderation, and educating advertisers about those initiatives. 

In other words, the company appears to be trying to reassure the market that the environment brands pay to appear in is being actively managed, not left to drift.

Alongside platform-specific concerns, X referenced broader macroeconomic pressures, including inflation, tariffs and reduced consumer confidence, arguing these factors have made advertisers more cautious and contributed to budget cuts on the platform.

A shrinking footprint: headcount continues to fall

The UK operation continued to contract. Sales and marketing headcount dropped from 59 employees in 2023 to 37 in 2024, while total UK staff numbers fell from 114 to 76. The longer view is even more dramatic: in 2022, X employed 152 people in sales and marketing and 399 staff overall in the United Kingdom.

Those staffing changes matter because they speak to how the business is being scaled (or de-scaled) locally. Fewer commercial staff can mean fewer direct relationships with agencies and brands, less hands-on support, and a tougher fight to win back confidence – especially at a time when advertisers are asking harder questions than “what’s the CPM?”

Grok controversy adds heat to the moderation debate

The financial slump lands amid heightened scrutiny of X’s approach to content moderation, particularly around the safety of women and children online. 

In early January 2026, the platform restricted image generation features connected to its AI tool, Grok, following widespread criticism that the tool was being used to create sexualised and violent imagery of women and girls – prompting political and regulatory pressure in the UK.

Downing Street publicly condemned the approach on 9 January 2026, criticising the idea that limiting access to a paid tier simply turns the creation of unlawful images into a premium feature rather than stopping the harm. 

The wider point being made was reputationally damaging: if unlawful imagery were displayed publicly in town centres, it would be expected to be removed immediately, not monetised.

Ofcom has also been involved, making urgent contact with X and investigating matters linked to illegal content and duties under the Online Safety Act – another reminder that, in the UK, platform safety isn’t just an abstract debate anymore; it is a compliance and enforcement question with real consequences.

The business reality: trust is now the product

Taken together, the story is less about a single bad year and more about a hard commercial truth: in advertising-led platforms, trust is part of the inventory. 

Brand safety concerns don’t simply create negative headlines – they create budget reallocation. And when advertisers pull back, everything else follows: revenues dip, profits compress, and local operations often slim down as the business resets around a smaller base.

For X, the challenge is twofold. It has to convince advertisers that it can provide a safer, more predictable environment for brands, while also demonstrating to regulators – and the public – that it can meet legal duties around harmful and unlawful content. 

The platform says it is building tools and investing in safety, but the wider scrutiny shows that the market is waiting for outcomes, not intentions.

Conclusion

X’s UK accounts for the year ending 31 December 2024 reveal a steep commercial slide: revenues down 58.3% to £28.9m, pre-tax profits down to £767,000, and a continued decline in UK headcount – especially in sales and marketing. 

The company blames the downturn largely on reduced spend from big brand advertisers, tied to concerns about brand safety, reputation and content moderation, while also pointing to wider economic caution. 

At the same time, the platform’s moderation approach has come under renewed pressure in January 2026 following backlash over Grok’s image-generation misuse, drawing condemnation from Downing Street and attention from Ofcom under the Online Safety Act. 

The message to the market is blunt: for X, rebuilding advertiser confidence now depends on proving – consistently and visibly – that safety, moderation and compliance are not optional extras, but central to the platform’s future in the UK.