Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, speaks during a press event at CES 2019 on January 9, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
David Becker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Twitter’s stock rose slightly after close of trading Tuesday after the company reported its fourth quarter earnings as the company beat Wall Street’s earnings and sales expectations. However, the company failed to meet Wall Street’s expectations for user growth.
Here are the key numbers:
- Earnings per share: Adjusted 38 cents compared to 31 cents forecast by Refinitiv
- Revenue: $ 1.29 billion versus $ 1.19 billion forecast by Refinitiv
- Monetizable Daily Active Users (mDAUs): 192 million vs. According to StreetAccount, 193.5 million are expected
Looking ahead, Twitter predicts revenue will grow faster than spending in 2021, assuming the pandemic continues to improve and taking into account the expected “modest impact” of Apple’s upcoming privacy changes to iOS 14. The company warned but ahead of more than 20% employee growth this year, with total costs increasing by more than 25%.
Twitter predicts revenue between $ 940 billion and $ 1.04 billion in the first quarter. According to Refinitiv, analysts expected an average forecast of $ 965 million.
Twitter also noted that despite “the unusual circumstances” in the first quarter, the increase in the “average absolute MDAU” up to the end of January was above the average of the last four years. Those statistic could have been an indication of the company’s January 8 decision to permanently suspend former President Donald Trump’s account. The company expects the mDAU to grow by around 20% in the first quarter compared to the previous year.
“We are a platform that is obviously much bigger than any topic or account,” Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, told the analysts on a call.
When Dorsey later asked a twist on the same question, he reiterated that 80% of Twitter’s audience is outside of the US. Dorsey added that Twitter users can follow 6,000+ different topics and stated that these topics are fueling growth.
“We have a global service. We don’t just rely on news and politics to drive Twitter,” said Dorsey. “That’s why I believe it is so important and important to be able to follow topics and interests.”
Twitter’s total mDAUs rose 5 million to 192 million from the third quarter, but fell short of analysts’ expectations of 193.5 million. The user base increased by 26.3% compared to the previous year.
According to the report, Twitter ad revenue grew 31% year over year to $ 1.15 billion, with total ad exposure increasing 35% over the same period.
Twitter found that its mobile application promotion (MAP) offering, which is part of its direct response advertising business, increased 50% year over year in the fourth quarter. The company announced on Monday the launch of its remodeled MAP product and said in its earnings report that it “should grow our addressable market and diversify our customer base.”
