Walt Disney’s (DIS.N) reported pursuit of Twitter (TWTR.N) is a high-risk, low-reward move, according to Citi analysts.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that Disney has been consulting with advisors to make a possible bid for the social media platform.

Disney’s shares have fallen as a result of the report, with the stock price dropping from Friday’s US$93.27 close to as low as US$91.51 on Wednesday. Twitter's shares have jumped, meanwhile, rising from a US$18.62 close last Thursday to as high as US$23.61 on Wednesday.

Citi analysts Jason Bazinet, Mark May and Robert Koryl outlined four key points on why a potential takeover would be troubling for Disney in a Tuesday report, in some cases using Twitter’s own legacy against it.

While Twitter’s monthly average users grew by double digits, peaking at about 50 per cent in the third quarter of 2015, the social media company’s user growth is expected to be near zero this quarter, Citi’s analysts noted. 

Citi said that the trend of stalled user growth is also affecting Twitter’s bottom line.

“Despite a US$700 million increase in revenue in 2014, GAAP operating losses (including stock-based compensation) only improved by US$100 million. Similarly, despite an US$800 million increase in revenue in 2015, GAAP operating losses only improved by US$90 million,” the analysts wrote.

This year has shown signs of improved profitability but only as a result of layoffs late last year and a $200-million bump from Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey to the employee stock option program.

However, some investors still see strength in Twitter and – as a result – the company’s stock.

“To me Twitter has really taken the place of the in-the-moment headline news: Where we used to go for news of the moment,” Summit Place Financial president Liz Miller told BNN on Monday.

“[Disney] is struggling, of course, a lot of focus on ESPN and how to keep [it] a driver, but you really have a lot of strength on the movie side and [the company is] certainly a huge multi-media mogul.”

Summit Place currently holds a stake in Twitter, but not in Disney.

Still, Citi looks to both the history of tech mergers and acquisitions, as well as the logistical fit between Disney and Twitter as cause for concern.

“In the last 15 years, we cannot think of a single web-based property that was successfully acquired by a traditional media firm,” Citi writes. “This includes both AOL/Time Warner (in 2000) and MySpace/News Corp (in 2005). If history is any guide, Twitter entails significant risks for the buyer.”

Citi also raised concerns over the effect an all-cash or all-stock deal would affect Disney’s share price. Either way, the analysts said they believed Disney shares would decline as a result, with drops of US$5 or US$9, respectively.

Using Twitter’s recent deal to stream National Football League games as an example, Citi also argued that content deals won’t provide a financial boost for the social media platform. In other words, Disney content on Twitter won’t help the platform make money.