Twitter revenues hit record high amid spike in users

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) reported record quarterly results overnight as the microblogging platform highlighted a sharp jump in its active user base in the final months of 2020.

In its results for its fourth quarter, the company reported net income of US$222mln, or US$0.29 per share, in line with market expectations and up from US$119mln last year.

READ: How will the Manifest Destiny of Big Tech and its barons eventually reveal itself?

Revenues, meanwhile, jumped 28% to a record US$1.29bn, beating expectations of  US$1.18bn following a 31% surge in advertising revenues.

The surge in revenue and earnings was accompanied by a rise in monthly daily active users (mDAU), a core indicator of Twitter’s reach and popularity, to 192mln from 152mln a year ago but slightly short of the 193.5mln expected by analysts.

Looking ahead, Twitter said it expects to report revenues of between US$940mln-US$1.04bn for the first quarter of 2021 alongside operating income of between a US$50mln loss and break even.

The firm also said it plans to grow its headcount by 20% in 2021, particularly in its engineering, product, design, and research departments, and as a result expected its costs to expand by 25% or more during the year.

Additionally, Twitter cautioned that they would experience a “modest impact” from the rollout of new privacy changes on Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS 14 operating system for its iPhones, although they still expected revenues to “grow faster than expenses in 2021”.

“2020 was an extraordinary year for Twitter. We are more proud than ever to serve the public conversation, especially in these unprecedented times”, Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said in a statement.

“Our product changes to date are promoting healthier conversations for those who use our service, including advertisers and partners, and we are excited about our plans to continue innovating in 2021”, he added.

Story by ProactiveInvestors