Twitter woes deepen as growth sputters, loss widens

WASHINGTON: Twitter shares plunged Thursday as the social network reported sluggish revenue and user growth, with its finances sputtering despite the global prominence given the platform by President Donald Trump’s extensive use of it.

Twitter reported a net loss in the fourth quarter of $167 million, after a $90 million deficit in the corresponding period a year ago.

Revenue in the quarter rose a modest one per cent to $717 million.

In the critical area of user growth, Twitter said it ended 2016 with 319 million monthly active users, a gain of four per cent from a year ago in the closely watched metric and only two million more than the prior quarter.

Advertising revenue, which makes up the lion’s share of Twitter’s receipts, was down slightly from a year ago at $638 million. Its revenue from the United States was down five per cent at $440 million.

For all of 2016, Twitter lost $456 million on revenues of $2.5 billion. That represented a narrowing of the deficit from 2015 and a 14 per cent increase in revenue.

Chief executive Jack Dorsey remained upbeat about Twitter’s longterm prospects. “The whole world is watching Twitter,” Dorsey told a conference call.

“While we may not be meeting everyone’s growth expectations, there’s one thing that continues to grow and outpace our peers: Twitter’s influence and impact.”

Twitter, which has never reported a profit, has been revamping its offerings as it seeks to expand beyond its core base of politicians, celebrities and journalists.

Some analysts had expected a bump in Twitter use following the election of Donald Trump, who is an avid user of the platform and frequently uses it to offer his views on policy. — AFP