TWITTER POSTS LOSS FOR 2021, BUT STOCK UP ON SHARE BUYBACK

Twitter’s shares jumped in early trading Thursday after it posted strong revenue growth last year and announced a $4 billion share buyback program. That’s despite losing money in 2021 and falling short of Wall Street expectations for user growth in the last three months of the year.

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Revenue increased 37%, to $5.08 billion, compared with 2020. But the San Francisco company reported a net loss of $221 million for the year largely tied to the settlement of a shareholder lawsuit.

In the October-to-December quarter, Twitter earned $182 million, or 21 cents per share. Adjusted for one-time gains and costs, per-share earnings were 33 cents, hitting Wall Street expectations. Revenue grew in the fourth quarter to $1.41 billion, up 22% from the same period a year ago.