Twitter's Live Events Unlikely To Contribute Significantly To Q3 Results

Axiom is not sure about the most recent speculation of Softbank eyeing Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR). However, the firm thinks that Live events would keep the shareholders optimistic about the execution of product launches. The brokerage believes that stream of speculations would dictate the share price in the immediate term.

As the social media company is scheduled to report its earnings on October 27, Analyst Victor Anthony boosted his estimations. He expects adjusted EBITDA of $150 million compared to the earlier projections of $144 million while adjusted EPS estimate is increased from $0.08 to $0.09 for the third quarter. The analyst sees the company generating 6.5 percent year-over-year growth in revenue to $606 million.

Related Link: How The SEC's Enforcement Division Is Responding To Cybersecurity Challenges

The brokerage expects 2.3 percent growth in MAUs of 314 million. This would also be one million higher than the second quarter. Ad revenue growth is estimated to grow 4.4 percent to $535 million.

As far as the forecast for the fourth quarter, Axiom noted the consensus revenue estimate of $751 million representing 5.7 percent growth and adjusted EBITDA of $192 million. The firm thinks that Twitter's initiatives of live video, i.e. presidential debates and NFL, were successful as far as streaming quality and viewership is concerned. The firm thinks that about 2–3 million unique viewers accessed these live events.

However, the brokerage maintained Hold rating and target price of $16 on the stock. In a research note, the firm viewed, "Checks show lower advertiser demand for Twitter's inventory relative to other social media platforms. Twitter continues to face rising competition for user time from Snapchat and Instagram, and pricing that is at a premium [to] other platforms."

At last check, the stock was down 2.94 percent at $17.56.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.

Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!