The number of daily users logging on to Twitter jumped 11% in the second quarter, demonstrating that people are still turning to the short-message service even as some countries start reopening after coronavirus lockdowns.
According to Twitter, the number of daily users who are able to see ads (a key metric for visitors) grew from 206 million to 206 millions in the June quarter. Twitter attributes the strong year-over year growth to product improvements, and an interest in current events.
Social media site, which generates most of its revenue through ads, saw a 74% increase to $1.19 Billion in quarterly revenue due to the rise in users. Thomson Reuters analysts surveyed said that the performance exceeded Wall Street’s expectations of $1.065 trillion.
Twitter earned 8c per share, which is better than the 13 cents per-share loss estimates. Twitter earned 20c per share after excluding certain expenses, surpassing estimates of 7c per share.
After-hours trading saw shares rise 7% to $74.40 per tweet.
Analysts and observers wondered if people would continue to tweet as often as they did before they were allowed to return home from the pandemic. As the pandemic in certain parts of the globe eases, Twitter’s growth shows that it is still an integral part of peoples’ lives.
The strong performance comes as Twitter tries to move beyond its 280-character tweets, which have fundamentally changed the way politicians, celebrities and others communicate with the world. To help users share their thoughts, the company has tried out live audio, exclusive content and newsletters.
The company hopes that the new products, including some that allow for payments, will offer it new ways of making money beyond ads, which account for the majority of Twitter’s revenues.
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Twitter, for example, has been testing a way to charge money for tickets for exclusive live audio chats. This is part of the live audio product Spaces. Twitter is also testing Super Follows which allows users to charge a monthly fee for additional content. Based on user earnings, the company will receive a cut.
Twitter stated that it will not take more than 3% off until a user makes $50,000 through both products. Twitter will then increase its cut to as high as 20%.