Twitter reports $1.14 billion net loss for 2020; costs & expenses rise by 19%

American micro-blogging site Twitter on Wednesday announced that it had suffered a net loss of $1.14 billion in 2020 representing a net margin of -31 percent. On the other hand, Twitter's costs and expenses saw an increase of 19 percent year over year totaling $3.69 billion while revenue amounted to $3.72 billion.

Releasing its financial results for the fiscal year, the social networking company said, "2020 net loss was $1.14 billion, representing a net margin of -31 percent and diluted EPS [earnings per share – Ed.] of -$1.44. This compares to 2019 net income of $1.47 billion, representing a net margin of 42 percent and diluted EPS of $1.87.” Both periods were affected by non-cash, tax-related adjustments."

For the first quarter of 2021, Twitter expects total revenue to be between $940 million and $1.04 billion. "As we enter 2021, our objectives are similar to previous years and our success will best be measured by our ability to grow our audience and deliver financial results in line with our guidance," it said.

Read: 'Should Be Proud Of Koo App': IT Minister Names & Shames 'genocide Trending' Twitter In RS

Read: Twitter Watching? Centre Uses Koo To Call Out Its 'unusual' Blog Post; Sets Record Clear

Twitter under pressure from India

This report comes amidst immense pressure being faced by the company when it comes to its business interests in India. Earlier this month, the Indian government had ordered Twitter to block 1,178 accounts with links to Pakistan and Khalistan supporters that were spreading misinformation and provocative content on the farmers' protest. It had also asked for action to be taken against hashtags related to 'Farmer Genocide'. 

Yesterday, Twitter said that it had withheld some of the accounts flagged by the Indian government and had blocked them "within India only" but had not blocked handles of civil society activists, politicians, and media as "it would violate their fundamental right to free expression". 

This had earned a strong response from the Union Ministry for Electronics, IT, and Communications with Ravi Shankar Prasad stating that the spread of 'hateful' content and their "double standards" will not be allowed in India. 

Amid the tussle, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and some other government departments have set up accounts on native micro-blogging site Koo. The app was launched 10 months ago and won the Aatmanirbhar App Challenge organized by the Indian government.

Read: Aprameya Radhakrishna's Koo Is The Indian Twitter Rival; Know All About The App's Founders

Read: Centre Turns Down Twitter's Dialogue Proposal; Company Cites Action Against 500 Accounts