Twitter aims to double revenue by 2023, teases new 'super follow' feature

By Sheila Dang and Elizabeth Culliford

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc will launch new features and products faster to refresh its business after years of stagnation, the company said on Thursday, aiming to double its annual revenue in 2023.

The stock rose 3.9% to close at $74.71, after hitting an all-time high of $80.75.

"Why don't we start with why folks don't believe in us," said Chief Executive Jack Dorsey at the start of Twitter's virtual investor day presentation. "It comes down to three critiques: we're slow, we're not innovative, and we're not trusted."

The social media network outlined plans including tipping and paid subscriptions to "super follow" some accounts, to attain at least $7.5 billion in annual revenue and 315 million monetizable daily active users (mDAU), or those who see ads, by the end of 2023.

The "super follow" feature, which lets users charge followers for access to exclusive content, will launch this year, a spokesman said.

The site, typically used to broadcast short messages to a wide audience, is also working on building more ways for people to have conversations, it said.

This includes hosting live audio discussions using its 'Spaces' feature, which is being tested with about 1,000 users, and letting people share longer-form content using Revue, a newsletter publishing service Twitter acquired last month.

It is also considering allowing "communities" to be created for particular interests.

Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter's head of consumer product, said creators would be able to customize communities, including setting and enforcing "social norms" beyond Twitter's rules.

At the virtual event, Twitter's policy chief Vijaya Gadde also reiterated the company's support for an open internet. Dorsey said any changes to Section 230, a U.S. law that shields online companies from liability over content posted by users, must be made carefully.

Internationally, Twitter faces challenges in India, a rapidly growing market with plans to require that social media companies erase certain content and coordinate with law enforcement.

Twitter had previously refused to delete content connected to farmers' protests in India.

 

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru, Sheila Dang in Dallas and Elizabeth Culliford in New York; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Jonathan Oatis and Richard Chang)