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Under pressure from slowing user growth, Twitter ( TWTR ) is set to report first-quarter earnings after the market close Tuesday. It’s a busy week for social networking stocks, with Facebook ( FB ) reporting Wednesday and LinkedIn ( LNKD ) on Thursday. Twitter reports during a rough period for the company. Revenue growth has declined year over year for the past six quarters, and user growth has declined the past four quarters. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect 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. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney said data from research firm ComScore was “slightly negative” for Twitter, indicating a slowdown in unique visitors from Q4. He also said a survey of ad professionals conducted by RBC and Ad Age showed mixed results for Twitter. “We are incrementally more cautious on the stock’s prospects as a result,” wrote Mahaney, who has a sector perform rating on Twitter stock and a price target of 23. Since Twitter reported Q1 2015 earnings that revealed trouble ahead, the stock has plunged to 17 from 51. Twitter stock closed Monday at 17.09, down a fraction. In Q4, average monthly active users at Twitter rose 9% year over year, to 320 million, about 3 million less than Wall Street had expected. The Q4 growth was the same as Q3. Growth has cooled from 18% in Q1 2015, 15% in Q2 and 11% in Q3. 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 ). Facebook Q1 earnings come after the close Wednesday. The consensus on Facebook revenue is $5.25 billion, up 48%. Analysts expect EPS ex items to hit 62 cents a share, also up 48%. LinkedIn reports after the close Thursday. The stock bombed 44% to a three-year low after LinkedIn posted Q4 earnings on Feb. 5, as 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. The consensus on revenue is $829.5 million, up 39%. EPS is figured at 60 cents, up 5%. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News