National Post (National Edition)
Twitter aims for big growth in revenue
Determined to double annual income by 2023
Twitter Inc. wants to double its annual revenue to US$7.5 billion by 2023, and expects to increase its user base by an average of almost 20 per cent each of the next three years, according to a regulatory filing.
The social media company has targeted 315 million daily active users by the end of 2023, an increase from 192 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Shares jumped as much as 12 per cent to a record intraday high of US$80.75 as the market opened on Thursday.
The business goals were announced Thursday in conjunction with the San Francisco-based company's first Analyst Day since 2014.
Twitter makes about 86 per cent of its annual revenue from targeted advertising, a crowded space in which its market share is a sliver compared with competitors like Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google.
But Twitter executives have argued that the company has a lot of room to increase its sales by building products for smaller clients.
The company also has been buoyed by a rise in digital advertising the past year as more consumers shopped online during the pandemic.
And Twitter is considering other ways to generate revenue, such as a subscription business.
The shares have jumped almost 33 per cent in 2021, despite the company's decision in early January to ban then-U.S. President Donald Trump from the service.
There was concern that Trump's ban would hurt business, or stunt user growth, but Twitter said growth in January was around 20 per cent, which is consistent with previous quarters.
Another goal outlined Thursday is meant to improve Twitter's pace when it comes to improving the service.
The company wants to “double development velocity” of product shipments that directly influence revenue or user growth.
In practice, that means “doubling the number of features shipped per employee,” the company said in its filing, though it didn't specify the current rate.