Social media giant Twitter has reported its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, as well as growth in its number of daily active users, which reached 217 million, up 13 percent from a year-earlier 192 million users and up from 211 million users in the previous quarter.
Analyst had forecast 218.6 million DAUs for the fourth quarter, according to StreetAccount. The daily active user growth — the main audience measurement metric for the company — follows the introduction of new group products on the platform, with investors keen to see in the latest financial results whether they are gaining traction.
Twitter had 179 million DAUs in the U.S. and another 38 million DAUs in international markets during the latest quarter.
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The latest growth in DAUs based on group product improvements sent Twitter shares up by $2.73, or 7 percent, in Thursday pre-market trading to $40.56.
Twitter, which recently saw the departure of co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, earned 33 cents per-share for the latest quarter, compared to a year-earlier 38 cents. Analysts were expecting per-share earnings at 35 cents.
Overall Twitter revenue came to $1.57 billion, which missed an analyst forecast of $1.58 billion, according to Refinitv. U.S. revenue was $885 million, up 21 percent from a year-earlier, and total international revenue came to $663 million, up 23 percent from 2020.
Twitter advertising revenue — the company’s top business line — grew by 22 percent year-on-year to $1.41 billion, the company reported, with total ad engagements falling 12 percent from a year earlier. That missed an analyst estimate for advertising revenue of $1.42 billion.
“Our strong 2021 performance positions us to improve execution and deliver on our 2023 goals. We are more focused and better organized to deliver improved personalization and selection for our audience, partners, and advertisers,” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said in a statement ahead of his first analyst call.
