Jack DorseyJustin Sullivan/Getty ImagesTwitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
Twitter  $14.06
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Twitter's user growth came to a halt in the fourth quarter, sending the company's shares down as much as 13% before the stock recovered some ground in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
Here are the key numbers:
  • Monthly active users (MAUs): 320 million, compared to 320 million in the third quarter of 2015 and below the 323 million expected by analysts.
  • Revenue: $710 million, up 48% year-on-year and in line with the $710 million expected by Wall Street.
  • Adjusted earnings per share (EPS): $0.16 compared to the $0.12 average-analyst expectation.
  • Q1 guidance: revenue of $595 million to $610 million, compared to the $629 million expected by Wall Street.
Twitter shares were down roughly 5% at $14.25 in after-hours trading on Wednesday after initially plunging about 13% when the results came out.
User growth came to a standstill in the final three months of the year, and in the US actually declined from 66 million to 65 million.
Excluding text-messaging, the company's global audience also shrank at the end of the year to 305 million from 307 million in Q3.
Twitter said in a letter to shareholders on Wednesday that growth was hurt by "organic declines, partially due to fourth quarter seasonal trends."
Despite the Q4 slowdown, Twitter said that things were picking back up.
"We've already seen January monthly actives bounce back to Q3 levels. We're confident that, with disciplined execution, this growth trend will continue over time," the company said.
Twitter laid out five priorities to get its business back on track in the coming year, including making the service easier to use and increasing its focus on live video capabilities, such as its Periscope app.
The stock has been pummeled, falling more than 70% from its 52-week high.
Wall Street is worried that the service's best days are behind it as users flock to newer apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp. And Twitter's reduced stock price has prompted speculation that the company could become an acquisition target.
Here's a look at Twitter's slowing user growth:
TwitterMAUBI Screenshot

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