Twitter Gains Millions of Users in First Earnings Report Since Accepting Musk's Bid The company reported on Q1 2022 earnings on Thursday.
By Emily Rella Edited by Amanda Breen
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
It's a bittersweet feeling as Twitter's Thursday earnings report for Q1 of 2022 could be one of its last as the company gears up to change ownership after a bid for purchase by Elon Musk was accepted on Monday.
However, if this quarter's earnings report is any bit indicative of where the company will grow under Musk, it looks like it may only be up from here.
But first, the bad news: Twitter missed on revenue estimates, which analysts had set at $1.23 billion, by only reporting $1.2 billion in Q1. Still, the $1.2 billion was a 16% quarterly increase from Q4 2021.
The numbers all eyes were on, however, were the number of mDAUs (monetizable daily active users), which can be expected to increase or decrease based on the public's perception of Musk as a leader and Twitter under his leadership.
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The number for Q1 was a startling 229 million mDAUs, up 16% from the same time last year and an increase of 12 million DAUs from last quarter.
Though the earnings report does not include data taken since Musk purchased Twitter (the deal was made on April 25), it could be argued that Musk's influence on the social media platform during March played a significant role in piquing interest for users.
In March alone, Musk made waves by Tweeting about inflation prices amid the Russia and Ukraine conflict, offered his advice on investing in cryptocurrency, challenged Vladmir Putin to a duel and, at the tail end of the month, posted his now notorious Twitter poll that asked users whether or not Twitter adheres to free speech — the poll that started the near month-long roller coaster that ended in Musk's purchase of the social media company.
Before the news was made public on Monday, analysts and experts predicted that the future of Twitter vs. Musk would be announced prior to Thursday, knowing that the company would be expected to disclose any acquisition discussions, especially if they were in final stages.
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"In light of the proposed transaction with Mr. Musk, as is customary during the pendency of an acquisition, Twitter will not be hosting a conference call, issuing a shareholder letter, or providing financial guidance in conjunction with its first quarter 2022 earnings release," the company said. "We will not be providing any forward looking guidance, and are withdrawing all previously provided goals and outlook."
Under Musk, Twitter will become a privately held company.
The billionaire is purchasing the company for $54.20 per share (around $44 billion) in cash, with the acquisition set to finalize by the end of 2022.
Twitter opened at $49.01 per share at market open on Thursday, and was up around 1.73% in a 24-hour period by the afternoon.
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