Twitter (TWTR) is scheduled to report results of its second fiscal quarter before the market open on Thursday, July 23, with a conference call scheduled for 8:00 am ET. What to watch:
USER METRICS: Twitter's monetizable daily active usage, or mDAU, is a closely watched measure of its popularity and growth potential. Last quarter, the company reported global monetizable daily active usage increased 9% sequentially to 166M and 24% year-over-year, while the company's U.S. base increased 8% sequentially to 33M, an increase of 17% year-over-year. The company said, "The increase in mDAU was driven by typical seasonal strength, ongoing product improvements, and increased engagement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We saw strong mDAU growth throughout the quarter, with a significant acceleration in March as the pandemic became global. The absolute number of mDAUs stabilized toward the end of March as many people around the world settled into new routines."
AD REVENUE: In Q1, the company reported ad revenue of $628M, up approximately $3M compared to last year. The company also reported total ad engagements rose 25% year-over-year and cost per engagement decreased 19% year-over year. The company said, "The quarter was, however, best seen as two distinct periods: January through early March, which largely performed as expected, with strength in the US and some COVID-19 related weakness in Asia, and early March through the end of the quarter, when the pandemic became global. As an indication of the rapid change in advertising behavior, from March 11 until March 31, our total advertising revenue declined approximately 27% year over year. The downturn we saw in March was particularly pronounced in the US, and advertising weakness in Asia began to subside as work and travel restrictions were gradually lifted."
GUIDANCE: Along with Q1 earnings, Twitter announced it would not be providing quarterly revenue and operating income guidance for Q2 give the unprecedented uncertainty and rapidly shifting market conditions of the current business environment. Analysts estimates see the company's Q2 earnings per share of 0c on a revenue of $704.46M. The company also said it would not update its previously withdraw full-year outlook.
NEW FEATURES, UPDATES: In April, Twitter changed some features pertaining sharing of sharing certain private information of users with advertisers. Twitter said, "Twitter shares certain non-public personal information with certain digital advertising platforms to help measure and optimize the effectiveness of our efforts to market Twitter on those platforms. This information can include IP address and mobile device advertising identifiers for devices that open or log in to Twitter's mobile apps; but does not include your name, email, phone number, or Twitter username." Additionally in April, Twitter said it will remove unverified COVID-19 claims that incite 5G backlash. In May, the company tested "Rethink a Reply" to give user an option to revise tweets that may contain harmful language. Twitter also rolled out new warning message for misleading information on COVID-19 in May. Additionally in May, the company began testing new settings to let users choose who can reply to their tweets. At the end of the month, Twitter added a fact-checking link to President Donald Trump's false tweets about voting by mail, marking the first time the company has done so and sparking a feud with Trump. In June, the company tested a new feature allowing users to tweet with voice. Additionally in June, the company added a "manipulated media" warning to a Trump tweet that was edited.
TWITTER HACK: Many prominent accounts on Twitter were hacked to tweet out messages relating to an apparent bitcoin-related (BTC) scam. The Verge initially reported July 15 that the accounts of Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates were compromised this afternoon, with Musk tweeting, "I'm feeling generous because of Covid-19. I'll double any BTC payment sent to my BTC address for the next hour. Good luck, and stay safe out there!" while Gates' account said, "I am doubling all payments sent to my BTC address for the next 30 minutes. You send $1,000, I send you back $2,000." Both accounts included an identical bitcoin wallet address. The Verge added that Square's (SQ) Cash App account also appeared to have been hacked. CNBC reported later on that hackers appear to have targeted the accounts of Apple (AAPL), Uber (UBER), and Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos, as well as several cryptocurrency related companies in an apparent bitcoin-related scam. CNBC added later that the accounts of Kanye West, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former VP and current Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden all posted messages about the scam. The Twitter account of former President Barack Obama was also compromised in the hack. Following the incident, Twitter confirmed internal tools had been accessed for the attack but said there was "no evidence" attackers accessed passwords. The company also said about 130 people were targeted in the attack. Reuters reported July 16 that the FBI is leading a federal probe into the hack.
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