- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
- Liverpool share responsibility for Nunez goal drought, says Slot
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Top seed Sabalenka stunned by Muchova in Beijing last eight
Twitter sticks with ambitious targets despite earnings miss
Twitter on Thursday reported that revenue and its user base grew less than expected, but the platform stuck with ambitious growth targets for the coming years.
The platform has a fraction of the daily users -- an average of 217 million at the end of 2021 -- that flock to giants like Facebook, but has aimed to significantly boost growth and revenue.
For the full year 2021, the group's revenue came in at $5.08 billion and was $1.57 billion in the quarter, slightly below analyst expectations.
Thursday's earnings release showed that Twitter was about one million under analysts' expectations for users at the end of 2021, but still increased by about six million from the previous quarter.
In the report, the company said it was still aiming for 315 million daily users by the end of 2023, and at least $7.5 billion in income that year.
"Our strong 2021 performance positions us to improve execution and deliver on our 2023 goals," said CEO Parag Agrawal, who took over from founder Jack Dorsey last year.
Analysts were a bit more measured in their view of the company's goals.
"It's going to be tough, but not totally impossible," wrote Market Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg, referring to the 315 million target.
Twitter "will need to add over 12 million each quarter over the next two years to reach 315 million," Enberg noted.
"With Agrawal in charge, we can expect more product changes and innovation at an even faster pace than we've seen over the past two years," she added.
Advertising revenue, Twitter's main source of revenue, grew 37 percent for the year and 27 percent for the quarter, but was also below predictions.
The company's quarterly net profit was $182 million.
Twitter's board of directors also approved a new share buyback program for $4 billion, replacing the previous $2 billion program initiated in 2020 and completed to the tune of $1.2 billion.
Wall Street reacted positively to this latest announcement, with shares up just over one percent to around $38 at 1515 GMT.
A.Santos--PC