Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR)
Twitter on Thursday said it expects operating expenses to increase 20% in 2019 as it ramps up efforts to safeguard the integrity of its platform. Executives of the social media giant issued a light fiscal first quarter forecast, sending its shares down 8.17% to $31.37 in pre-market trade.
However, the company posted higher-than-anticipated fiscal 2018 fourth quarter revenue and earnings after making a series of changes aimed at attracting advertising dollars from rivals such as Facebook and Google. Twitter said the number of monthly users on its platform during the quarter was 321 million, down 1.5% to from three months ago.
TWTR Earnings & Outlook
Twitter reported net income of $255 million, or $0.33 per share, versus $91 million, or $0.12 per share in the same period last year. Adjusted for items such as employee stock compensation, earnings of the social media firm were $0.33 per share, beating estimates of $0.25 per share, according to Refinitiv figures.
Revenue grew 24% to $909 million from $731.6 million in the same period a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had projected revenue of $868.15 million. For the current quarter, Twitter expects revenue to be in the range of $715 to $775 million, in-line with the analyst estimates of $765 million, based on Refinitiv data.
The company anticipates cash operating expenses to be in the region of $550 million to $600 million, which would be a 20% jump from last year.
Twitter CEO Comments
“2018 is proof that our long-term strategy is working. Our efforts to improve health have delivered important results, and new product features like a single switch to move between latest and most relevant Tweets have been embraced by the people who use Twitter,” said Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO. “We enter this year confident that we will continue to deliver strong performance by focusing on making Twitter a healthier and more conversational service.”
Ned Segal, Chief Financial Officer of Twitter commented, “Through our consistent strategy and solid execution, Q4 was a strong finish to the year. We’re delivering great results with revenue up 24% year-over-year, steady sequential growth in total monetizable daily active users (mDAU) and revenue, along with GAAP profitability throughout the year.”
Twitter, Inc. Profile
Twitter, Inc. is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. It provides a network that connects users to people, information, ideas, opinions, and news. The company’s services include live commentary, live connections and live conversations.
Its application provides social networking services and micro-blogging services through mobile devices and the Internet. The company can also be used as a marketing tool for businesses. Twitter was founded by Jack Dorsey, Christopher Isaac Stone, Noah E. Glass, Jeremy LaTrasse, and Evan Williams on March 21, 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. – CNN Money
