Twitter Earnings, Revenue Beat in Fourth Quarter

Twitter reported Q4 results Tuesday, topping Wall Street estimates despite active users falling short of expectations. In after-hours trade, Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) was up 1.4%. 

Twitter reported a fourth-quarter EPS of 38 cents on revenue of $1.29 billion. This compares to estimates of 29 cents on revenue of $1.18 billion.  

Monetizable daily active users increased 27% to 192 million in Q4 sequentially. It was just short of consensus estimates of 193.5 million. 

The company said advertisers benefit from their new ad formats, stronger attribution, and improved targeting. These resulted in a 31% year-over-year increase in total ad revenue. It is greater than 50% year-over-year growth in MAP revenue in Q4.

Their product changes to date are promoting healthier conversations for those who use their service, said Twitter. These include advertisers and partners, and they are excited about their plans to continue innovating in 2021.

Looking ahead to the first quarter, Twitter forecast its revenue to be between $940 million and $1.04 billion. That compares to analysts’ estimates of $964.6 million. 

Twitter said they expect total costs and expenses to grow 25% or more in 2021. They will be ramping in absolute dollars for the year. Given the hiring and investment decisions made in 2020 and previous years, along with anticipated 2021 headcount growth, the company said.

Barbie, Hot Wheels Power Mattel’s Holiday-quarter Sales Beat

Meanwhile, in other news, Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) beat quarterly sales estimates on Tuesday. Parents splurged on Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars for children during a holiday dulled by the pandemic.

Since the latter half of 2020, the toymaker has seen a surge in sales with coronavirus-led curbs’ easing. Toy stores restock their shelves and cater to young families dealing with canceled vacations and a dearth of social events.

That jump in sales may be hard to repeat in 2021, Mattel Chief Executive Officer Ynon Kreiz said.

The toymaker said worldwide gross billings for Barbie, Mattel’s biggest brand, rose 19% in Q4, while Hot Wheels billings rose 13%. Gross billings such as trade discounts exclude sales adjustments.

Mattel’s overall net sales rose about 10% to $1.63 billion for Q4 ended Dec. 31. It beat analysts’ estimates of $1.58 billion.

On Monday, Rival Hasbro Inc (NASDAQ:HAS) reported a 3.6% increase in comparable holiday quarter revenue. It also beats analysts’ estimates on demand for board games like Monopoly and toys based on The Mandalorian TV series.

Mattel reported adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share. That was up from 11 cents per share a year earlier.

The firm also announced a new cost-cutting program to save about $250 million in costs by 2023. It expects to spend between $100 million to $125 million to implement it, Mattel said.