Twitter beats estimates, cuts jobs with eye on 2017 profitability

Twitter Inc said Thursday it would cut 9 percent of its global workforce to keep costs down as the microblogging service reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations, lifting shares.

Third-quarter revenue growth slowed sharply in the third quarter but topped analysts' expectations. Its stock rose nearly 4 percent to $17.97 in premarket trading.

Revenue rose about 8 percent to $616 million, above the average analyst estimate of $605.8 million. The company reported a 20 percent rise in revenue in the previous quarter and 58 percent last year.

Total advertising revenue of $545 million grew 6 percent year-over-year.

Excluding items, the company earned 13 cents per share, beating the average estimate of 9 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"We're getting more disciplined about how we invest in the business, and we set a company goal of driving toward GAAP profitability in 2017," said Chief Financial Officer Anthony Noto.