AI-based news feed app Qutoutiao Inc (NASDAQ: QTT) is slated to report first-quarter 2019 earnings results after the closing bell on Monday, May 20. Analysts expect the Chinese firm to report a loss of 41 cents per share on revenues of $161.9 million.
Qutoutiao, which went public in September last year, has so far shown exceptional operational growth for such a young company. In 2018, the company reported a 485% year-over-year jump in revenues to $440 million.
The top-line growth was backed by steady and consistent user engagement. In the last-reported quarter, average daily active users soared 224% to 30.9 million, while average monthly active users jumped 286% to 93.8 million.
However, owing to the rising expenses required to improve the budding platform, net loss widened more than ten times to $145 million. Shares fell 14% on the mixed Q4 results.
The highly volatile stock is down 20% in the year-to-date period. After hitting a 2019-high in mid-March the stock fell as much as 64% after the company announced plans to offer new stock for $10 per share. Investors did not take lightly the stock offer coming only half a year after its IPO.
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Qutoutiao has not yet been able to recover from the fall. The management is likely to provide more clarifications during the earnings conference call.
QTT has a 12-month average price target of $12.20, suggesting 115% upside from its last close.
Founded in 2016, Qutoutiao aggregates articles and short videos and presents customized feeds to users.