SAN FRANCISCO _ Growth in ad sales and monthly users outside the United States were among the key figures that spurred a strong quarter for Twitter as the social-media company on Tuesday reported first-quarter sales that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.
Twitter, which put out its results before the stock market opened Tuesday, said it ended the first three months of 2018 with 336 million monthly active users, an increase of 6 million such users over the fourth quarter of 2017. Five million of those new users came from international markets, while Twitter added 1 million new users in its U.S. home base.
Wall Street analysts had expected Twitter to finish its first quarter with 334 million monthly active users.
The company has been working on more methods to keep visitors on the site for longer than it takes to post a tweet. Live programs, including sports and information shows, have helped Twitter in its efforts to sell more video ads, which are fueling the company's revenue gains.
Twitter said it ended the quarter with a profit of $61 million, or 8 cents a share, on revenue of $664.9 million. Revenue from advertising reached $575 million, up 21 percent from a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Twitter said it earned 16 cents a share, to top the estimates of analysts, who had forecast the company to earn 12 cents a share on $606.9 million in total sales.
