Twilio stock jumps 12% after chasing layoffs with first major share-repurchase plan

Twilio Inc.
TWLO,
+6.36%
announced its first major share-repurchase plan Wednesday, two days after revealing the second large round of layoffs at the software company in less than six months. While cutting costs on employees, Twilio announced Wednesday that its board had approved a $1 billion share-repurchase program; FactSet records show that Twilio has not repurchased any shares in the past four years and less than $30 million since going public in 2013. In prepared remarks, Twilio Chief Executive Jeff Lawson said the company would purchase $500 million in stock in the next six months, and he planned to personally purchase $10 million in stock as soon as his next trading window opens. Twilio shares jumped more than 12% in after-hours trading immediately following the release of the results. The company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $229.4 million, or $1.24 a share, and its first quarter with more than $1 billion in sales — quarterly revenue of $1.02 billion was up from $843 million a year ago. After adjusting for stock-based compensation and other costs, the company reported earnings of 22 cents a share, improving from an adjusted loss of 20 cents a share a year ago. Twilio executives guided for a first-quarter adjusted profit of 18 cents to 22 cents a share on sales of roughly $1 billion, while analysts on average were expecting adjusted earnings of 2 cents a share on revenue of $1.03 billion, according to FactSet. Twilio shares have plunged nearly 67% in the past 12 months, as the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.28%
has declined 7.5%.