Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter Earnings Put Light On Social Networks

By | April 22, 2016

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Social networking, a top tech trend the past decade, will get the spotlight with earnings reports next week, starting with Twitter ( TWTR ) on Tuesday and followed by Facebook ( FB ) on Wednesday and LinkedIn ( LNKD ) on Thursday, all after the market close. Twitter reports during a tumultuous period for the company. Revenue growth has decelerated for the past six quarters as user growth has slowed for four consecutive quarters . The slowdown continues despite a series of new features Twitter has rolled out in the past year, including video tool Periscope and Moments. The company has overhauled management, starting with the return of co-founder Jack Dorsey as CEO in October. Dorsey is also the founder and CEO of payment processing firm Square ( SQ ), thus is juggling two heavy clubs. Since Twitter reported Q1 2015 earnings that revealed trouble ahead, the stock has plunged to 17 from 51. Twitter stock fell 1.6% in the stock market today , closing at 17.23. The consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is for Twitter to report Q1 revenue of $607.8 million, up 39% year over year, with earnings per share minus items rising 43%, to 10 cents. Facebook Hopes To Keep Q4 Momentum Facebook Q1 earnings will come after the close Wednesday. The company soundly beat Q4 earnings expectations on booming mobile ad revenue, with the stock up 16% since then, though shares fell 2.5% Friday, to 110.56. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a 10-year strategy for Facebook at its annual F8 Developer Conference last week. He emphasized pushing its Messenger chat platform deeper into the business world with chatbots, enhancing Live video with virtual reality and expanding the social network to remote regions of the world. Analysts say the monetization strategy of Messenger will closely follow that of Instagram, with both platforms seen becoming multibillion-dollar businesses . The consensus on Facebook revenue is $5.25 billion, up 48%. Analysts expect EPS ex items of 62 cents, also up 48%. In what could be a long-term nightmare scenario for Facebook, users are feeling weary about posting personal reflections and updates on their daily lives. LinkedIn, the business networking site for professionals, saw its stock bomb 44% to a three-year low after the company posted Q4 earnings on Feb. 5, as its Q1 guidance widely missed estimates. LinkedIn acknowledged that a reshuffling of product strategy will impact short-term revenue growth in favor of the long term. LinkedIn stock has recovered about 10% since that 44% drop. It fell a fraction Friday, to 119.45. The consensus on revenue is $829.5 million, up 39%. EPS is figured at 60 cents, up 5%. Scalper1 News

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