Twitter disappoints investors with recent growth numbers

Twitter said Monday its monthly active user base expanded to 284 million users during the July-to-September quarter, an increase of 13 million over the previous three-month period. While that might sound like decent enough growth, some investors had been expecting a more impressive figure. The numbers, revealed on Monday as part of the company’s financial report for Q3, also suggest the rate of growth is slowing after Twitter added 16 million new users in the April-to-June period and 14 million in the quarter before that.

Twitter Inc posted a disappointing 7 percent slide in a closely watched measure of engagement even though its user base grew 23 percent in the third quarter, triggering a more than 9 percent decline in its stock on Monday. The online messaging service also projected fourth-quarter revenue that may miss Wall Street’s targets. Expectations had run high for Twitter since the messaging service, which for years had fought to revive growth in users, surprised Wall Street in the second quarter by signing up 24 percent more people globally. Excluding Monday’s decline, Twitter’s shares have gained almost 19 percent since July. Some investors had raised fears about declining Twitter usage as other social media and mobile messaging services become more popular. The company reported monthly active users, an important metric scrutinized by investors who worry that Twitter’s growth has peaked, rose 23 percent to 284 million in the quarter.