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Both Twitter Inc. and Snap Inc. beat earnings expectations today in a marked turnaround for two companies that have struggled with growth for some time.

Twitter reported 330 million monthly users in the quarter, up from 321 million in the previous quarter but below the 336 million in reported in the same quarter of 2018.

Monetizable daily active users — a metric Twitter first introduced last quarter to describe users who logged in or were otherwise authenticated and accessed Twitter on any given day — came in at 134 million, up from 124 million last quarter and 120 million a year ago.

On the financial front, the microblogging service booked revenue of $787 million, up 18% year-on-year with net income of $191 million and earnings per share of 25 cents. Those figures were down from the fourth quarter thanks to the influence of the holiday season, but they still beat market predictions across the board.

Investors were highly impressed by the numbers as well, with Twitter’s share price surging 15.7% today after reporting results early in the morning. They closed at $39.77, its highest price since last July. Update: On Wednesday, its shares fell 1.2%.

Not to be left out, Snap also pleased shareholders by reporting 190 million daily active users, a little over the 187.22 million expected by analysts polled by FactSet, according to CNBC. The user count rose 2 percent from the fourth quarter, notable since it’s the first quarter in a year that Snap hasn’t lost users.

Snap reported revenue of $320 million, up 39% from a year ago, while its net loss came in at $310 million, an improvement of $76 million from a year ago.

“In the first quarter, we delivered strong results across our business with growth in daily active users and revenue,” Snap Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel said in a statement. “Our new Android application is available to everyone, with promising early results. This month we announced several new products that we believe will drive further engagement and monetization.”

While Snap is rolling out new products, its operating costs are also predicted to increase. The company forecast an loss before certain costs such as stock compensation of between $125 million and $150 million in the second quarter, as rising user numbers drove up hosting costs.

Snap shares rose almost 4% today, to $11.99 a share, then rose 2.5% more in after-hours trading. Update: On Wednesday, investors changed their minds and shares fell 6%.

Photo: Pixabay