It’s a big week for the social media world as Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter release Q2 earnings in the same week. On Friday, July 26th, Twitter analysts expect that Twitter will report earnings per share of $0.18 on revenue of $829 million. In Q1 of 2019, Twitter experienced revenue growth alongside growth of their user base. Will second-quarter results mirror Q1?
CivicScience’s always-on tracking and trending data show that monthly, weekly, and daily Twitter users have been on the rise in Q2 (jumping from 25 to 29%) after years of remaining relatively flat.
However, this isn’t an isolated trend for Twitter. Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat saw a spike in user growth (monthly, weekly, daily) for Q2 of 2019.
It’s hard to say if Twitter’s user growth is tied to a rise in other platform usage or vice versa. It could be that overall social use is increasing – regardless of how much time is spent on any given site. It’s irrefutable that it’s becoming less common for respondents say they “don’t use any social media” (red line).
When looking at the most recent quarterly breakdown of Twitter users, two key usage and media trends emerge:
1 | Gen Z and Gen X make up 60% of Monthly + users.
The good news for Twitter is that when it comes to general trust in the company from a data privacy standpoint, Gen Z is the most likely to say they at least somewhat trust Twitter (33%) – despite the fact that 81% of Americans have no trust in the site
2| Monthly + Twitter users are more likely to head to social media for breaking news — more than frequent Facebook users
While Twitter’s user base is on the rise, it’s clear that as of the last 3 months, Gen Z and Gen X users are making up the majority of the user base. As content moderation efforts – and possible regulation – for the site evolve, we’ll be tracking changes in the site’s user base – especially if Twitter users are more likely to turn to social media for breaking news stories.
