Twitter shares dive almost 11% as results disappoint

Twitter reported lower-than-expected revenue for the first quarter, hurt by weaker spending by big advertisers, and the microblogging service provider forecast current-quarter revenue well below analysts' expectations.

Twitter shares plunged nearly 11 per cent to $15.83 in extended trading on Tuesday.

The company’s user growth has been slowing as its complicated interface makes it less attractive to new users.

It has also been facing competition from Facebook , which has rolled out services such as the Live video streaming program that rivals Twitter’s Periscope.

Twitter’s total average monthly active users rose to 310 million in the quarter to March 31st from 305 million in the fourth quarter.

The company forecast revenue of $590 million-$610 million for the second quarter. Analysts on average were expecting $677.57 million.

First-quarter revenue rose 36 per cent from a year earlier to $594.5 million, but widely missed the average analyst estimate of $607.8 million.

Its net loss narrowed to $79.7.million, or 12 US cents per share, from $162.4 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Twitter earned 15 cents per share, beating the average estimate of 10 cents.

In a statement released alongside the earnings report, Twitter said: “As we outlined last quarter, we’re focused on what Twitter does best: live.

“This is our first quarterly update after laying out our long-term strategy and priorities. As a reminder, we have five priorities for the year: refining our core service, live-streaming video, creators and influencers, safety, and developers.

“Each is critical to strengthening our platform and audience around live. We made meaningful progress across each in Q1.”

– Reuters / PA