Twitter overstated its user numbers for nearly three years,
from Q1 2019 to Q4 2021, it revealed in its Q1 financial report released on
Thursday.
The miscount was caused by a feature introduced in March
2019 that allows users to link multiple separate accounts together in order to
more conveniently switch between them. From then to the end of 2021, Twitter
was counting all linked accounts as separate monetizable daily active users.
Twitter published its corrected mDAU values for the two-year
period versus its previously reported metrics, showing it overstated in a range
of 300,000 users up to 1.9 million users.
In Q1, the social media company reported revenue growth of
16% year-on-year to $1.2 billion, shy of analyst expectations by around $30
million, and an operating loss of $128 million, days after its board agreed to
sell to Elon Musk for $44 billion.
Revenue growth decreased from 22% in the prior quarter and
28% in Q1 2021. The results are reflective of similar muted performances from
other tech companies, with Alphabet, Meta and Snap all reporting headwinds in
Q1.
Twitter stated in its financial report that its revenue
performance reflects “headwinds associated with the war in Ukraine” No other
insight was given since Twitter canceled its call with investors for its first
quarter results, which it said is “customary during the pendency of an
acquisition.” It did not issue a shareholder letter nor provide forward looking
guidance.
Average mDAUs for Q1 2022 rose 15.9% year-on-year to 229
million. The platform performed strongest outside of the U.S., where users grew
18.1% to 189.4 million, compared to 6.4% in the U.S.
Revenue was offset in the quarter by a ramp up in costs and
expenses, by 35% year-on-year to $1.33 billion, resulting in its operating
loss.
Advertising revenue increased 23% to $1.11 billion, while
subscription and other revenue decreased 31% to $94 million. The vast majority
of decreases in subscription and other revenue was due to Twitter’s sale of
mobile ad platform MoPub, which AppLovin purchased for $1.05 billion in
January.
The MoPub sale pushed Twitter’s net income to $513 million
in Q1, compared to $68 million the prior year.
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