SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Apr. 29, 2014 - Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014.
"We had a very strong first quarter. Revenue growth accelerated on a year over year basis fueled by increased engagement and user growth," said Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter. "We also continue to rapidly increase our reach and scale. With the integration of MoPub, we now reach more than 1 billion iOS and Android users each month, making us one of the largest in-app mobile ad exchanges in the world and the only one at scale to offer native in-app advertising."
For information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this release, please see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
First Quarter 2014 Operational Highlights
First Quarter 2014 Product Highlights
First Quarter 2014 Financial Highlights
Revenue - Revenue for the first quarter of 2014 totaled $250 million, an increase of 119% compared to $114 million in the same period last year.
Net loss - GAAP net loss was $132 million for the first quarter of 2014 compared to a net loss of $27 million in the same period last year. Twitter's GAAP net loss included $126 million of stock-based compensation expense.
Adjusted EBITDA - Adjusted EBITDA was $37 million for the first quarter of 2014 compared to $12 million in the same period last year.
Non-GAAP net income / loss - Non-GAAP net income was $183 thousand for the first quarter of 2014 compared to a Non-GAAP net loss of $11 million in the same period last year.
EPS - Basic and diluted GAAP EPS was ($0.23) for the first quarter of 2014 compared to ($0.21) in the same period last year.
Non-GAAP EPS - Non-GAAP EPS was $0.00 for the first quarter of 2014 compared to ($0.08) in the year ago period.
Capital expenditures - Purchases of property and equipment for the first quarter of 2014 were $50 million. Additionally, $17 million of equipment was financed through capital leases during the first quarter of 2014.
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities - As of March 31, 2014, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were approximately $2.2 billion, compared to $2.2 billion as of December 31, 2013.
Outlook
Twitter's outlook for the second quarter of 2014 is as follows:
Twitter's outlook for the full year of 2014 is as follows:
Webcast and Conference Call Details
Twitter will host a conference call today, Tuesday, April 29, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss financial results. Questions submitted via Twitter, directed to @TwitterIR, using the hashtag #TWTRearnings will be considered during the Q&A; portion of the conference call in addition to questions submitted by conference call participants. A live webcast of the conference call, Twitter's financial results and supplemental slides will be accessible from the Investor Relations page of Twitter's website at investor.twitterinc.com. A replay will be archived and accessible at the same website after the conference call. Twitter has used, and intends to continue to use, its Investor Relations website (investor.twitterinc.com), as well as certain Twitter accounts (@dickc, @twitter and @twitterIR), as means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.
About Twitter, Inc.
Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. By developing a fundamentally new way for people to create, distribute and discover content, we have democratized content creation and distribution, enabling any voice to echo around the world instantly and unfiltered. The service can be accessed at Twitter.com, via the Twitter mobile application and via text message. Available in more than 35 languages, Twitter has 255 million monthly active users. For more information, visit discover.twitter.com or follow @twitter.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Twitter's future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, Twitter's expectations regarding its revenue, adjusted EBITDA, capital expenditures and stock-based compensation expense for the second quarter and full year 2014. Twitter's expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks include the possibility that: our user base and engagement do not continue to grow; advertisers reduce or discontinue their spending on Twitter; data partners reduce or discontinue their purchases of data licenses from Twitter; and Twitter experiences expenses that exceed its expectations. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Twitter's Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 6, 2014. Additional information will also be set forth in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Twitter as of the date hereof, and Twitter disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement Twitter's financial information presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP, Twitter considers certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, including adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income (loss), and non-GAAP EPS. Twitter defines adjusted EBITDA as net loss adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization expense, interest and other expenses and provision (benefit) for income taxes; and Twitter defines non-GAAP net income (loss) as net loss adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets and the income tax effects related to acquisitions.
Twitter uses the non-GAAP financial measures of adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP EPS in evaluating its operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. Twitter believes that adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP EPS help identify underlying trends in its business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the expenses that we exclude in adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP EPS. Twitter also believes that adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP EPS provide useful information about its operating results, enhance the overall understanding of Twitter's past performance and future prospects and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by Twitter's management in its financial and operational decision-making. Twitter uses these measures to establish budgets and operational goals for managing its business and evaluating its performance. Twitter is presenting these non-GAAP financial measures to assist investors in seeing Twitter's operating results through the eyes of management, and because it believes that these measures provide an additional tool for investors to use in comparing Twitter's core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in its industry.
These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similarly-titled measures presented by other companies.
For future periods, Twitter is unable to provide a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net loss as a result of the uncertainty regarding, and the potential variability of, depreciation and amortization expense, interest and other expenses and provision (benefit) for income taxes, that are expected to be incurred in the future.
Contacts
Investors:
Nils Erdmann
ir@twitter.com
Press:
Jim Prosser
jprosser@twitter.com
