Weak Guidance Has Investors Worried About the Future of Twitter

Photo of Chris Lange
By Chris Lange Updated Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Twitter-button
Wikimedia Commons
Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) reported its third quarter financial results after the markets closed on Tuesday. The company had $0.10 in earnings per share (EPS) on $569 million in revenue compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that call for $0.05 in EPS on $559.59 million in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $0.01 in EPS on $361.27 million in revenue.

Total average Monthly Active Users (MAUs) were 320 million for the third quarter, up 11% year over year, and compared to 316 million in the previous quarter. Excluding SMS Fast Followers, MAUs totaled 307 million for the third quarter, up 8% year over year, and compared to 304 million in the previous quarter. Mobile MAUs represented roughly 80% of total MAUs.

During this quarter, Twitter launched Highlights on Android, Music on Vine, and landscape view and web profiles for Periscope. The company introduced an updated version of the logged-out Twitter.com desktop home page. It also removed the 140-character limit on direct messages.

At the same time, the company announced commerce partnerships with platforms that power e-commerce sites, including Bigcommerce, Demandware, and Shopify, and retailers and brands such as Best Buy, Adidas, and PacSun.

In terms of guidance, Twitter expects revenue to be in the range of $695 million to $710 million for the fourth quarter compared to the consensus estimate of $739.73 million.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, commented on earnings:

We continued to see strong financial performance this quarter, as well as meaningful progress across our three areas of focus: ensuring more disciplined execution, simplifying our services, and better communicating the value of our platform. We’ve simplified our roadmap and organization around a few big bets across Twitter, Periscope, and Vine that we believe represent our largest opportunities for growth.

On the books the company has $3.49 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments compared to $3.62 billion at the end of December 2014.

Shares of Twitter closed Tuesday up about 1.5% at $31.34, with a consensus analyst price target of $37.62 and a 52-week trading range of $21.01 to $53.49. Following the release of the earnings report, shares were down nearly 13% at $27.29 in the after-hours trading session.

ALSO READ: The 10 Most Profitable Companies in the World

Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618