Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) released its Q4 2017 earnings report before opening bell this morning. On a non-GAAP basis, Twitter earnings amounted to 19 cents per share on $732 million in revenue. Analysts had been expecting Twitter earnings to be 14 cents per share on $686.5 million in revenue. In the year-ago quarter, Twitter reported $717.2 million in revenue and non-GAAP earnings of 11 cents per share.
On a GAAP basis, Twitter earnings amounted to 12 cents per share, a vast improvement from the GAAP loss of 23 cents per share reported in Q4 2016. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $308 million, which amounted to 42% of revenue in Q4 2017, compared to the $215 million and 30% of revenue recorded in the year-ago quarter. Ad revenue fell to $2.1 billion from $2.25 billion a year ago, while data licensing and other revenue grew to $333 million from $282 million in the year-ago quarter.
“Q4 was a strong finish to the year,” CEO Jack Dorsey said in a statement about the Twitter earnings results. “We returned to revenue growth, achieved our goal of GAAP profitability, increased our shipping cadence, and reached five consecutive quarters of double digit DAU growth. I’m proud of the steady progress we made in 2017, and confident in our path ahead.”
Twitter reported 330 million monthly active users in Q4, which was flat sequentially but up 4% year over year. The consensus stood at 333 million monthly users. Average daily users increased 12%. Twitter had 68 million domestic monthly users and 262 million international monthly users. The company said it hosted more than 1,140 live-streamed events during Q4 2017, of which 60% were streamed to a global audience.
For Q1 2018, Twitter expects adjusted EBITDA to come in between $185 million and $205 million with a margin of 33% to 34%. For fiscal 2018, the social media form expects capital expenditures to total between $375 million and $450 million.
Following the Twitter earnings release, the company’s stock skyrocketed by more than 20% in premarket trades, rising as high as $32.50 ahead of the bell.
