Twitter posts strong first-quarter earnings

Twitter said Thursday that it beat first-quarter revenue expectations and added more "monetizable" daily users than investors had anticipated.

Why it matters: It was the fourth major internet company to post strong earnings in the past week, suggesting that Big Tech will continue its dominance over the advertising ecosystem as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Twitter, like Facebook and other ad-based companies, says it's not providing guidance for its performance next quarter, given the uncertainty in the advertising market.

By the numbers, via CNBC:

• Earnings per share (EPS): 11 cents vs. 10. cents expected by Refinitiv
• Revenue: $808 million vs. $776 million expected by Refinitiv
• Monetizable daily active users (mDAUs): 166 million

Yes, but: It also said its ad revenue was down 27% during the last two weeks in March as the pandemic took hold.

Between the lines: Twitter says the quarter represented its strongest year-over-year user growth ever at 24%, suggesting that its app is experiencing a surge in usage while people are at home.

What's next: Twitter CFO Ned Segal said in a note to shareholders that the company is shifting resources to "increase focus on our revenue products and reduce expense growth" so that it can whether the coronavirus fallout.