Twitter is the latest social media company to report a first quarter boost, after it posted record quarterly user growth and topped analyst sales projections on Q1 financials Thursday morning. At the same time, the company warned that its ad business took a severe hit in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The company, led by CEO Jack Dorsey, added 14 million monetizable daily active users during Q1 for an increase of 24% year-over-year; both the net user gains and the growth rate were Twitter records for a single quarter. Twitter, in its letter to shareholders, said this was “driven by typical seasonal strength, ongoing product improvements, and global conversation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Overall, Twitter now has 166 million daily users.
For the first quarter, Twitter reported sales of $807.6 million, surpassing analyst estimates of $776 million; the company’s 11 cent loss per share was a penny shy of the 10 cent loss per share Wall Street anticipated. Twitter’s 3% year-over-year sales growth due to a “strong start to the quarter that was impacted by widespread economic disruption related to COVID-19 in March.”
Twitter’s share price, after already going on a strong run over the last month, was up 3.73% in premarket trading to $32.25 per share. Heading into Thursday morning, the company’s share price had already increased 33% since the beginning of April.
Recent user growth, via Twitter
Twitter, in its letter to shareholders, said these are “unprecedented times” and that the company is pleased to see users are leaning on the app for pandemic news, among other interests. “Our work has never been more important,” the company said. “More people than ever are coming to Twitter to learn about COVID-19, to connect with their interests, and to find people with common experiences.”
One thing worth noting: The company’s ad revenue from March 11 until the end of the month dropped 27%, with Twitter saying the ad downturn was “particularly pronounced” in the U.S. due to the pandemic. Despite not sharing a Q2 revenue estimate, Twitter sounded as if it’s optimistic its ad concerns will subside as the U.S. economy begins to open back up. As the shareholder letter said: “Advertising weakness in Asia began to subside as work and travel restrictions were gradually lifted.”
Both Alphabet and Facebook this week said their ad businesses were hit hard by the pandemic, with Facebook saying it faced “unprecedented uncertainty” moving forward. But both tech giants hinted April had shown signs of recovery on the ad front — something noticeably missing from Twitter’s Q1 report. During the company’s financial call on Thursday morning, CFO Ned Segal warned the company’s April performance was similar to the second half of March, when ad sales dipped dramatically.
JK Rowling's 13 Snarkiest Tweets: From Trump Burns to Fan Clapback (Photos)
J.K. Rowling is known for her fiery tweets almost as much as her "Harry Potter" books. Since the hit author opened her Twitter account in 2009, the Internet has been privy to the wit, charm, and -- most of all -- snark that made "Harry Potter" one of the best-selling series of all time. From President Donald Trump to Piers Morgan to anonymous Internet trolls, Rowling rarely holds back when something gets her attention. In honor of her 52nd birthday (on July 31), take a look at her snarkiest tweets.
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Rowling has a long-standing feud with British journalist and television presenter Piers Morgan. Here's one memorable exchange where Rowling appeared to come out on top: She tweeted a screenshot of a complimentary article about her and asked for the writer to come forward. Morgan was quick to respond, writing, "Priceless #humblebrag BS. Nobody plays the celebrity game more abusively or ruthlessly than you, Ms 'Intensely Private Billionaire.'" Of course, it turns out that Morgan was actually the person who wrote the article in the first place. Oops.
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After a Twitter troll mocked Serena Williams -- one of the best tennis players of all time -- accusing her of being built like a man, Rowling defended the sports icon like a boss, posting a picture of Williams in a red dress and writing, "'She is built like a man'. Yeah, my husband looks just like this in a dress. You're an idiot."
Years after Rowling made waves by announcing that she always thought that Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay, she continues to stick up for the beloved character and other LGBTQ people. When a Twitter user commented that she couldn't see Dumbledore as gay, Rowling replied, "Maybe because gay people just look like... people?"
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After a Twitter user hurled abuse at Rowling (calling her "JK b---hface," among other insults), she offered a quick and brutal response: "The Internet doesn’t just offer opportunities for misogynistic abuse, you know. Penis enlargers can also be bought discreetly."
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Rowling started burning Donald Trump well before he became president. After Trump's final debate with Hillary Clinton during the campaign, Rowling declared, "Well, there you have it. A highly intelligent, experienced woman just debated a giant orange Twitter egg. Your move, America. #debate."
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After Trump met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Rowling posted a picture of a meeting between the two leaders (including a sad-looking Trump) and captioned the photo: "Mommy was mean to me and I don't want to hold her hand."
JK Rowling / Twitter
Trump tweeted recently that he prided himself on his writing abilities, but Rowling caught his misspell of the word "pore" (he wrote "pour") in his message. The author tweeted: "hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha someone told him how to spell 'pore' hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah." Eventually she calmed down enough to write: "*wipes eyes, tries to control breathing* Seriously, @realDonaldTrump is the Greatest Writer on earth."
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When hordes of London protesters greeted Trump with a large, inflatable "Trump baby," Rowling was quick to tweet her support: "Our traditions decree that courtesy in the guest is matched by equal courtesy from the host."
Vice President Mike Pence has also been a subject of Rowling's scorn. After the administration announced its plan to prevent citizens from certain Muslim-majority countries from enterting the U.S., Rowling resurfaced an old, pre-election tweet from Pence where he said that calls to ban Muslims from entering the country are "offensive and unconstitutional." Rowling also added a Bible verse, writing, "'For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?' Matthew 16:26."
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After someone on Twitter cast doubt on the struggles of "despondent-looking" refugees because they looked " improbably well-fed," Rowling -- who worked for Amnesty International, long before her Potter success -- offered a quick and important reminder: "It's a little known fact that well-fed people can also die from bullets, bombs and gas chambers."
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When Brexit Secretary David Davis and UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson announced plans to exit the government, Rowling was not at all pleased, writing, "This is what happens when you have men in government who've been raised from birth to believe it's someone else's job to clean up after them. They throw tantrums when they finally make a mess no-one can fix."
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Former fans who don't like Rowling's political views are also fair game in her eyes. After one detractor tweeted Rowling to say she planned to burn her set of "Harry Potter" books, Rowling responded: "Well, the fumes from the DVDs might be toxic and I've still got your money, so by all means borrow my lighter."
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When yet another Twitter user told Rowling to stay out of politics, she had a quick (and true) retort: "In - Free - Countries - Anyone - Can - Talk - About - Politics. Try sounding out the syllables aloud, or ask a fluent reader to help."
J.K. Rowling is known for her fiery tweets almost as much as her "Harry Potter" books. Since the hit author opened her Twitter account in 2009, the Internet has been privy to the wit, charm, and -- most of all -- snark that made "Harry Potter" one of the best-selling series of all time. From President Donald Trump to Piers Morgan to anonymous Internet trolls, Rowling rarely holds back when something gets her attention. In honor of her 52nd birthday (on July 31), take a look at her snarkiest tweets.
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