Twitter Tops 250 Million Users, Beats Q1 Revenue Estimates

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Twitter Chairman and co-founder Jack Dorsey, co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams and, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo pose for a group photo after their company's IPO began trading, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013.

Image: Richard Drew/Associated Press

By Seth Fiegerman2014-04-29 20:09:35 UTC

Twitter beat earnings and revenue estimates for the first quarter, but users numbers came in at the low end of Wall Street estimates.

Twitter reported breaking even on an earnings per share basis on revenue of $250 million for the March quarter, compared to Wall Street estimates for a net loss of $0.03 per share on revenue of $241.5 million.

See also: Twitter: What to Expect in 2014

The company reported having 255 million monthly active users during the quarter, up from 241 million in the December quarter and 204 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Some analysts had predicted Twitter would report having users of 260 million or more.

All eyes were on Twitter's user numbers leading up to the report. In February, Twitter revealed that it had added just 9 million active users in the fourth quarter, or a growth rate of only 3.8%. That raised concerns that Twitter might remain more of a niche service. Investors punished the stock, sending it down more than 20% overnight.

Twitter's stock hit a high of $74 a share in December, the month after it went public. However, it has since ticked down to the low $40-range following the disappointing earnings report and, more recently, concerns about an upcoming stock lockup expiration and a broader shift in sentiment for the tech sector.

The stock dipped by nearly 10% at one point in after hours trading following the earnings release. As of publication, it was down by about 7%.

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Topics: Business, stocks, Twitter