Social media users upbeat on Facebook; gloomy on Apple, Twitter

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Social media sentiment for Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Twitter Inc (TWTR.K) dropped sharply on Wednesday, a day after the companies reported disappointing quarterly earnings, while online circles remained confident about Facebook Inc (FB.O), which is scheduled to post results after the market closes.

Twitter’s stock plunged 15 percent at midday, after dropping nearly 14 percent late Tuesday on news that revenue growth at the microblogging service was stagnant.

Apple shares were down 6 percent, after Tuesday’s 8 percent drop to below $100 for the first time since February. The sell-off began after the company reported its first-ever decline in iPhone sales and first revenue drop in 13 years.

The companies’ online buzz turned negative as well. Twitter’s social media sentiment plummeted by roughly 30 percent over the previous day, while Apple slumped a little more than 15 percent, according to Reuters metrics.

“From my Seder: Plagues- blood, frogs, bugs, wild animals, pestilence, boils, hail, locust, darkness, $APPL!” tweeted Douglas Kass (@DougKass), president of Seabreeze Partners Management and a CNBC guest host, on Wednesday morning.

“How management can continue to drain shareholder $ yet exec pay continues to climb should be punishable. Blows my mind no activists. $TWTR,” tweeted Scott J. Wheeler (@swheelscpa).

Despite the gloom over the two technology companies, social media users remained firmly positive ahead of Facebook’s earnings, Reuters metrics showed.

While social media sentiment is not a precise measure of investor attitudes, it can offer a glimpse into what is being said about a company online.

Many analysts see Twitter in a war with Facebook for advertisement revenue and users.

“In terms of revenue, it’s approaching the point where $FB may generate in a month what $TWTR generates in a year,” wrote Twitter user Semil (@semil).

(Reporting by Amy Tennery; editing by Anna Driver and Richard Chang)