Twitter saw higher than anticipated revenue growth for its second quarter, they announced Friday, thanks to an increase in users and advertisers.
The social media company attributes the growth to recent changes that have improved user experience on the platform. The news boosted the company’s shares 10 percent, according to Reuters.
Twitter deleted millions of spam and fake accounts last year, which meant that its overall monthly user count declined through 2018. But according to the company, measures to improve its algorithm and offer more relevant content have now drawn in new users.
“Monetizable daily active users” increased 14 percent year on year, reaching 139 million and surpassing expectations of 135 million, according to the financial data firm Refinitiv. Total advertising revenue rose 21 percent since the year before, reaching $727 million (£588 million), following improvements to Twitter’s advertising platform.
This quarter, the company started reporting “monetizable daily active usage” instead of “monetizable active users,” in order to exclude users that access Twitter via aggregating sites, and include only those that are exposed daily to advertising on Twitter.
“We believe that making it easier for people to find what they are looking for when they come to Twitter, organizing around topics and events, and making it easier to follow and join conversations will drive more people to enjoy Twitter every day,” the company said in a tweet.
Twitter’s revenue increased 18 percent from the year before, reaching $841 million (£676.1 million) and exceeding Wall Street expectations of $829 million.
CEO Jack Dorsey attributed the growth to machine learning improvements that he said have brought more relevant content to each user’s feed.
“We approach every problem now with technology first, and that has been a pretty marked shift within the company,” he said.
They’ve also expanded their video content partnerships, saying this week they would partner with NBC to livestream portions of the 2022 Olympic Games, as part of the platform’s focus on sports commentary.
The company has also expanded multimedia features with a new camera function in the Twitter app, implemented stricter policies on hate speech and discrimination, and announced plans to label tweets from public figures that violate the platform’s rules.
Dorsey also reported an 18 percent drop in reports of spam and suspicious behavior.
Despite its gains, the company is forecasting a third-quarter revenue below estimates from analysts, due in part to discontinuing outdated ad formats. And operating expenses are set to grow about 20 percent in 2019, as the company hires employees.