Twitter Finally Earns Profit After 12 Years

Twitter has been around for a very long time, over 12 years, and despite having been around for more than a decade the company had never made a profit until now. Twitter has finally broken its dry spell in the fourth quarter of 2017 as it posted its first ever quarterly profit of $91 million on revenue of $732 million.

It made $91 million in profit compared to a $167 million loss in the same quarter back in 2016. It even posted better than expected revenue as video ad sales provided a push with total revenue seeing a 2 percent increase year-over-year. Twitter’s annual loss shrunk from $457 million in 2016 to $108 million 2017 aided by cost-cutting measures.

Despite Twitter being very popular, investors have long been confounded by its inability to turn a profit, even though it has a ubiquitous presence in the media and is widely used by politicians, celebrities, sports stars, and just about everyone who looks to send 280-character messages.

Twitter had forecast a quarterly profit for Q4 2017 as it cut down on expenses. The adjusted fourth quarter profit and revenue came in above street targets. Twitter’s stock has subsequently rallied with investors appreciating the results, its shares were set to open at the highest level since July 2015.

This, despite growth stalling compared to the previous quarter. Twitter revealed it had 330 million monthly active users in the final quarter of last year.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: Twitter