Topline
Shares of Twitter rose after the social media company reported solid third-quarter earnings—with revenue and user growth meeting analysts’ expectations, showing that Apple’s iPhone privacy changes had less of an impact on its business than expected.
Shares of Twitter rose nearly 4% after the company's solid earnings.
Key Facts
Twitter announced third-quarter revenue of $1.28 billion, an increase of 37% from a year ago, while daily active users grew by 5 million to a total of 211 million.
The company reported a loss of 54 cents per share, which was greater than expected, but mainly due to a one-time settlement paid out in September to resolve a shareholder lawsuit.
Shares of Twitter, which lost over 1% during trading on Tuesday, rose nearly 4% after the earnings release.Many investors had been closely watching to what degree Apple’s recent iPhone privacy changes would impact Twitter’s earnings, after mixed results from Facebook on Monday and Snap last week.
Despite Apple’s new policy disrupting the ad business of both those companies, Twitter said in its earnings release that the impact of the iOS privacy changes were minimal, with the company’s quarterly ad revenue rising more than 41% from a year ago to $1.14 billion.
Going into the fourth quarter, the company still only expects a modest impact to overall revenues from Apple’s recent iOS changes.
Key Background:
Apple’s privacy changes for the iPhone iOS 14.5 update were rolled out during the third quarter and introduced a new feature called App Tracking Transparency, which reduces the effectiveness and profitability of targeted advertising. Snap, which is almost entirely on mobile, admitted in its earnings report last Thursday that Apple’s privacy changes during the third quarter impacted advertising sales more than anticipated: Investors panicked and shares of Snap plunged over 25% immediately following earnings. Facebook, which reported earnings on Monday, also missed revenue estimates as CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned of “continued headwinds from Apple’s iOS 14 changes,” with shares falling nearly 4% on Tuesday.
Big Number: $14.5 Billion.
That’s how much Twitter cofounder and CEO Jack Dorsey is worth, according to Forbes’ estimates.
Further Reading:
Here’s Why Facebook, Twitter And Google Shares Are Sinking Even As The Market Sits Near Record Highs (Forbes)
Snap Shares Plunge Over 25% After New Apple Policy Hurts Quarterly Revenue (Forbes)
Stocks Close At Record Highs After Tesla Hits $1 Trillion In Market Value (Forbes)
