Twitter reports strong user growth in Q2 as ad revenue plummets

Twitter said Thursday that it added 20 million new monetizeable daily active users in the second quarter, an increase of 34% year-over-year — but its ad revenue was down 23% over the same period, due to pandemic-related pullback.

Why it matters: Twitter, like other media companies, is facing coronavirus' double-edged sword. While users flock online because of shelter-in-place orders, advertisers are cutting back their spending.

• The company did note that ad spend had started to recover slightly since the nationwide protests against systemic racism and police brutality kicked off.

By the numbers, per CNBC:

• Loss per share: $1.39, adjusted, which is weighed down by a $1.1 billion loss related to a noncash deferred tax asset, making it difficult to compare to analyst estimates.
• Revenue: $683 million vs. $707 million expected in a Refinitiv survey of analysts.
• Monetizable daily active users (mDAUs): 186 million vs. 172.8 million expected by StreetAccount.

The big picture: The earnings come a week after the tech giant experienced a serious hack, compromising the accounts of dozens of high-profile users.

• Members of Congress are calling on Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to testify alongside his peers in a House antitrust hearing next week, but Twitter hasn't publicly responded to the request.