Twitter is withdrawing its revenue and operating income guidance for the first quarter of 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The social media company expects revenue to be down slightly on a year-on-year basis due to the global economic environment the virus has created and its effect on advertiser demand.
In addition to pulling its revenue and operating income guidance, Twitter is withdrawing its outlook for headcount, expenses, stock-based compensation and capital expenditures for the full year.
“Twitter had a strong start to the year before the effects of COVID-19 began spreading more broadly, including a successful Super Bowl and overall strength in the US,” says Ned Segal, Twitter CFO.
“The COVID-19 impact began in Asia, and as it unfolded into a global pandemic, it has impacted Twitter’s advertising revenue globally more significantly in the last few weeks.
“We have made solid progress on our consumer and revenue product priorities and we remain confident in our opportunity and strategy. We hope everyone stays healthy and safe.”
Despite weaker advertising demand, user engagement on Twitter has been up as people deal with the pandemic, with quarter-to-date average total monetisable daily active users reaching approximately 164 million, up 23% from 134 million in Q1 2019 and up 8% from 152 million in Q4 2019.
“Twitter’s purpose is to serve the public conversation, and in these trying times our work has never been more critical,” says CEO Jack Dorsey.
"We’re seeing a meaningful increase in people using Twitter, and our teams are demonstrating incredible resilience adapting to this unprecedented environment.”
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