However, the social network’s overall revenue of $594.5 million was at the low end of Twitter‘s expectations for the quarter.
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Twitter Inc drew more users last quarter after a lull, but not quickly enough to lure greater spending from some major brand advertisers.
Twitter has more problems to worry about than just growing its number of users, and attracting video ad dollars might be part of the solution.
To boost its stagnant user growth, Twitter has over the past months introduced a new user interface and and emphasized its live video offerings.
According to research firm eMarketer, Twitter will generate $2.61 billion in digital ad revenue worldwide, up 30.8% from past year.
The stock plunged even though Twitter managed to grow its monthly active users by approximately 310 million from 5 million in the first quarter of the year.
“We are seeing marketers line up [TV and Twitter] campaigns together”, said Bain.
The company’s profit, on an adjusted basis, came in at 15 cents a share. Shares had closed Tuesday at $17.75 per share, up 66 cents, or 3.86 percent – this was before the bad news.
Twitter April 26 reported fiscal first quarter revenue of $595 million, up 36% from the same quarter in 2015, and a net loss of almost $80 million, down more than half from the $162 million the company reported losing a year ago.
Analysts have criticized Dorsey, who is also the CEO of mobile payments company Square, for struggling to pull Twitter stock out of its slump and present a clear strategy for the company’s future. Asked how he felt about Facebook’s recent push into live video content, Dorsey said he thought Twitter was and would remain the leader for live content.
Its net loss narrowed to $79.7.million, or 12 United States cents per share, from $162.4 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier. “As we outlined last quarter, we’re focused on what Twitter does best: live”.
During the first quarter, the company upped its marketing spend by $53 million. The first, direct-message prompts in tweets, makes it super easy for a business to reply to a public tweet and move the conversation to a private DM.
An anemic user base has plagued the social media company since before Dorsey re-took the reins, and analysts worry that it will prevent growth in other areas as Twitter progresses.
That said the company is trying new things, including its freakish decision to become the exclusive live streaming partner for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games, in an effort to bring fresh blood into its other stagnating service.
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Twitter lost less money than it has in past quarters, despite increasing its total expenses in several areas. The company also called out its partnership with GoPro to enable their cameras to broadcast directly on Periscope.
