Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) released the earnings results from its third quarter after closing bell tonight, posting non-GAAP earnings of 1 cent per share on $361 million in revenue. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 1 cent per share, excluding items, on revenue of $351.5 million in revenue.
In the same quarter last year, Twitter reported non-GAAP losses per share of 13 cents. Twitter’s guidance for the third quarter had been for revenue of between $330 million and $340 million in revenue.
The micro-blogging platform reported a GAAP loss of 29 cents per share and an adjusted EBITDA of $68 million. The GAAP loss includes $170 million in stock-based compensation and compares to last year’s GAAP loss of 48 cents per share.
Twitter disappoints on user growth
We’re having a bit of a déjà vu moment, as it appears like a miss on user growth expectations may be to blame for tonight’s share price decline. Twitter reported a total of 284 million monthly active users, coming up just shy of what analysts at Sterne Agee were projecting, which was 285 million users.
The company said mobile monthly active users made up about 80% of its total monthly active users. Timeline views rose 14% year over year to 181 billion. That’s compared to the 183 billion Timeline views Sterne Agee analysts wanted to see.
Advertising revenue per thousand Timeline views was $1.77 in the quarter, an 83% increase. That was enough to significantly beat Sterne Agee’s projection at $1.69 and also a big increase from last quarter’s $1.60.
Twitter saw ad revenue rose 109% year over year to $320 million. Mobile ad revenue made up 85% of total ad revenue. Data licensing and other revenue rose 171% to $41 million. International revenue rose 176% to $121 million and made up 34% of Twitter’s total revenue.
Twitter provides guidance
For the current quarter Twitter expects revenue to be between $440 million and $450 million. The micro-blogging platform projects adjusted EBITDA of between $100 million and $105 million.
Twitter also revised its outlook for the full year. Management now expects full year 2014 revenue to be between $1.365 billion and $1.375 billion and adjusted EBITDA to be between $260 million and $265 million.
