The big picture: User growth continues to be an issue for Twitter. The social network's monthly active user count hit 330 million in Q1, up from 321 million in the previous quarter but down from 336 million in the same period a year ago.
Twitter on Tuesday said it generated $787 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2019, an 18 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago. Revenue from advertising totaled $679 million, again representing an 18 percent year-over-year increase.
Costs and expenses for the quarter checked in at $693 million - once again, 18 percent more than the same period in 2018 (notice a trend here?). Even still, Twitter recorded net income of $191 million and earnings per share of $0.25, well above the $61 million and $0.08 earnings per share from the year-ago quarter.
Wall Street analysts were expecting around $775 million in revenue and earnings per share of just $0.15.
CEO Jack Dorsey said Twitter has continued to work to reduce abuse and its effects on the platform. For example, machine learning models are now responsible for detecting around 38 percent of abusive tweets that are taken down each week. They're also working to make Twitter more conversational with the recent launch of the twttr prototype app.
Looking ahead, Twitter said it expects revenue in the second quarter to be between $770 million and $830 million with operating income between $35 million and $70 million.
Lead image courtesy Sattalat phukkum via Shutterstock