Twitter ( NYSE: TWTR ) shares rose fractionally in early trading on Friday after the company said issues with the advertising industry and its possible acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk caused it to report second-quarter results that missed expectations.
For the period ending June 30, Twitter ( TWTR ) lost 8 cents a share excluding one-time items, on $1.18B in revenue, down 1% on a year-over-year basis. The company cited foreign exchange impacts, as well as "advertising industry headwinds" and uncertainty surrounding the acquisition by Elon Musk.
Analysts were expecting the company to earn 14 cents a share on $1.34B in revenue.
Twitter ( TWTR ) noted that it ended the period with 237.8M average monetizable daily active users [mDAUs], up 16.6% year-over-year. Such users in the United States rose 14.7% from a year ago, to 41.5M. Twitter ( TWTR ) ended the period with 196.3M international mDAUs, up 17% year-over-year.
The weak second-quarter comes as Twitter ( TWTR ) is set to undergo a legal battle between it and Musk over the billionaire's offer to buy the company for $44B, or $54.20 per share.
Musk is trying to terminate the deal, and Twitter ( TWTR ) has sued to force him to close the deal. Earlier this week, a Delaware judge ruled against Musk by deciding that Twitter's ( TWTR ) case can be expedited and said the trial will take place in October, instead of February 2023 as Musk and his team wanted.
The company said it wouldn't hold a conference call in light of the ongoing litigation surrounding its proposed buyout by Musk.
Wedbush Securities recently called the situation between Twitter ( TWTR ) and Musk "a game of odds [and] legal analysis", and suggested there are four likely scenarios once the matter is resolved between the two parties .
For further details see:
Twitter shares rise even as results miss due to advertising headwinds, Elon Musk drama