At 199M, Twitter logs 20% user growth as pandemic posts surge

Twitter now has 199 million average monetisable daily active users (mDAU), a 20 per cent growth (year-on-year), driven by ongoing product improvements and global conversation around the pandemic.

The micro-blogging platform reported $1.04 billion in revenue for the Q1 2021, up 28 per cent (on-year), and a net income of $68 million. The advertising revenue reached $899 million, an increase of 32 per cent.

"People turn to Twitter to see and talk about what's happening, and we are helping them find their interests more quickly while making it easier to follow and participate in conversations," Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in a statement late on Thursday.

Total ad engagements increased 11 per cent year-over-year while cost per engagement (CPE) increased 19 per cent year-over-year.

While US revenue reached $556 million, international revenue totalled $480 million, an increase of 41 per cent.

"Advertisers continue to benefit from updated ad formats, improved measurement, and new brand safety controls, contributing to 32 per cent year-over-year growth in ad revenue in Q1, said Ned Segal, Twitter's CFO.

The mDAU were 199 million for Q1, compared to 166 million in the same period of the previous year and compared to 192 million in the previous quarter.

Average international mDAU were 162 million for Q1, compared to 133 million in the same period of the previous year and compared to 155 million in the previous quarter.

"We are attracting more great people to Twitter than ever before and investing in our highest priorities to deliver on our long-term goals across consumer product, revenue product, and platform," the company said.

"As a result, we now expect headcount growth to more closely mirror expense growth in 2021, with headcount -- and total costs and expenses -- growing 25 per cent or more on a year-over-year basis in 2021," it added.

For Q2 2021, the company expects total revenue to be between $980 million and $1.08 billion.