Twitter reported mixed first-quarter numbers on Thursday, with revenue falling short of expectations but active users increasing, only three days after agreeing to be purchased by Elon Musk.
Following a one-time gain from a divestment, the micro-blogging platform posted earnings of $513.3 million, more than seven times the year-ago figure. Revenues increased by 16 percent to $1.2 billion, slightly less than the $1.22 billion predicted by experts.
Twitter’s active user count increased to 229 million, slightly above analyst projections.
The results are likely to be included in Twitter’s last earnings report following the Musk transaction, which is planned to conclude in 2022. Twitter cancelled its quarterly results conference call with analysts in the aftermath of the purchase.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the company has agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion in cash at $54.20 per share.
Twitter originally rejected Musk’s efforts, but unexpectedly changed direction after the flamboyant entrepreneur secured billions of dollars in finance from huge banks to match his own fortune’s contribution.
Musk slammed Twitter legal counsel Vijaya Gadde, who has spearheaded efforts to combat abuse, on Thursday, sparking condemnation from women’s organisations, Twitter’s former CEO, and others.
In pre-market trade, Twitter shares increased 0.9 percent to $49.10.
However, this is less than the transaction price and also less than the $51.70 level seen on Monday following the transaction.
