Twitter May Have Co-CEOs: Good Or Bad News For Shareholders?

With the top leadership position at Twitter Inc TWTR currently up in the air, shareholders are waiting with baited breath to see who the company chooses as its next CEO. Current CEO Dick Costolo will be stepping down on July 1 and will be replaced on an interim basis by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Everyone in the business world seems to have an opinion about who the new permanent CEO should be. While shareholders debate the possible candidates, Twitter could end up opting to choose more than one candidate and select co-CEOs.

The idea that two heads in the top leadership position are better than one holds water in principle. However, in practice, some companies that adopt a co-CEO management structure have learned the hard way that more is not always better.

Here’s a look at how share prices of some big-name companies have performed during co-CEO tenures.

Related Link: Axiom Analyst Trims Twitter User Estimates, Cuts Price Target

BlackBerry

The downfall of BlackBerry Ltd BBRY is well-documented, and the company’s former co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie could do little to stop the bleeding. In the two years prior to their resignations in January 2012, BlackBerry’s stock tanked more than 72 percent, while the S&P 500 was up more than 20 percent.

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank AG (USA) DB recently abandoned a three-year co-CEO experiment. Under dual leadership, the company’s stock fell 3.6 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 63.7 percent.

Oracle

In September of 2014, Oracle Corporation ORCL also appointed co-CEOs – Mark Hurd and Safra Catz. So far, the decision has worked out well for the company, as its share price has climbed 10.8 percent since the announcement, compared to only a 4.5 percent gain by the overall stock market.

J M Smucker

The decision to go with co-CEOs also panned out for J M Smucker Co SJM. During the co-reign of Richard and Timothy Smucker, the company’s stock climbed 137 percent versus the S&P 500’s 3.0 percent gain.

Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market, Inc. WFM has had dual CEOs since May, 2010, and the stock has out-performed the S&P 500 by more than 25 percent in that time.

SAP

During the time SAP SE (ADR) SAP had co-CEOs from 2010 to 2014, the stock’s 70 percent gain mirrored that of the overall market.

Image Credit: Public Domain