Widely used social network company Twitter Inc. (TWTR) has announced its results for the first quarter ending March 31, the company performed relatively well in the quarter beating several analysts’ estimates.
In the quarter, daily Twitter users who can view ads increased by 26% to 166 million, a number above what analysts had estimated by around 2 million. The company attributes this increase to an increased number of daily users of the social network.
Twitter says a majority of daily users of the platform have been using it to access information about coronavirus pandemic and any information or new developments concerning the situation.
Twitter generated revenue of $808 million in the quarter, a value way above the analysts’ estimate of $776 million. The revenue is also higher by 3% compared to what the company posted in a similar quarter in the previous year.
Around 84% of Twitter’s total revenue comes from ad revenue and partner apps on its platform. The ad revenue in the last three weeks of the quarter was down 27% compared to what the company had last year in the same period.
However, Twitter says ad sales are now on the rise following lifting of lockdowns and quarantine orders in Asia. The company did not give figures on how much ad sales were increasing.
The company made it clear that its largest sales decline in the quarter came from United States, also its largest market by revenue.
In consideration to Twitter’s report, many believe the company is among the few least affected by the pandemic effects.
“We’re not likely to see the full effects of the coronavirus on Twitter’s revenues until Q2, but due to rapidly changing conditions, the severity of the impact is hard to predict,” said Jasmine Enberg, a senior market analyst.
The company failed to reveal its financial guideline for the second quarter, however while on a conference call with analysts, Twitter’s CFO, Ned Segal, gave a hint of what the company is looking forward to.
Segal said between March 11 and March 31, the company’s ad revenue was down by 27% a scenario which has been repeating itself during the month of April.
In the first quarter, Twitter reported a loss of $8 million or a loss 1 cent per share, this also surpassed the analysts’ estimate of a loss of 2 cents per share.
