Twitter Makes 3Q Earnings Comeback Amid Layoff Announcement

If you’re not familiar with the classic children’s story “The Little Engine That Could“, give it a quick read and you’ll see the comparison to Twitter in the technology business. Twitter is still going strong, despite announcing that it plans to lay off about 350 members of its staff. The social media giant announced its third quarter earnings Thursday that gives merit to the company’s “I think I can” method of operation.

The company is rumored to be on the hunt for potential buyers to help restructure the app designed to give users a voice at 140 characters or less. During the third quarter of 2016, Twitter reported revenue $616 up 8 percent from the third quarter of 2016. Active monthly users also saw a slight increase of 3 percent to 317 million. Revenue from advertising also saw a slight increase to $545 million, up 6 percent from the year-ago quarter. A potential buyer cold take advantage of the company’s upward trend and boost profitability.

In a previous column I wrote, Twitter 2Q Earnings Prove Network Needs More Millennials, I mentioned rebranding and targeting a wider range of millennials could help boost the company’s user base and make it more competitive with Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. The executives at Twitter have been paying attention to emerging trends. In addition to its layoffs to help restructure, the company is shutting down the Vine video app. The app had a lot of users but couldn’t come close to competing with Snapchat.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey remains optimistic about the future of the company. He praised the company’s new strategy in the earnings release statement.  “We see a significant opportunity to increase growth as we continue to improve the core service. We have a clear plan, and we’re making the necessary changes to ensure Twitter is positioned for long-term growth. The key drivers of future revenue growth are trending positive, and we remain confident in Twitter’s future.” He said.

Can Twitter stay relevant in the rapidly changing technology market? There’s constantly new apps and startups hoping to take the social media giant’s place. Only time will tell if Twitter will survive. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter @Memymonicalink. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about Twitter and all things Tech business.