Twitter revenue flies higher, results beat expectations

Twitter posted stronger-than-expected results in the fourth quarter, shrinking its losses and nearly doubling revenue as it drew more users and expanded its reach and ad offerings.

Shares jumped over 6% in aftermarket trading.

The San Francisco-based short messaging service was still privately held for part of the year-ago quarter — it went public in November 2013. For the final three months of 2014 it had losses of $125.4 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with a loss of $511.5 million, or $1.41 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Twitter earned $79.3 million, or 12 cents per share — double the 6 cents expected by analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue surged to $479.1 million from $242.7 million, also topping analysts’ average estimate of $453.8 million.

Twitter’s stock had closed before the report at $41.26, a decline of 37.5% over the past year amid concerns about its ability to broaden its audience.