Here’s why everyone is freaking out about Twitter right now

Twitter has grown a lot since its creation in 2006. Not only have more users flocked to the site, but the company also recently doubled the length of tweets to 280 characters. And now the social media network is growing financially, too. Today, February 8th, Twitter stock prices skyrocketed after the company reported its first profit ever.

The social media company reported quarterly growth for the first time in its history, causing stock prices to increase by 22 percent. Twitter stock reached $35 per share, which is the company’s highest stock price since 2015. The social media site first began selling shares in 2013, with a price of $26 per share.

Even though Twitter has an established user base, the company has struggled to increase its profits. But in 2017, the company generated 7 percent more ad revenue than in 2016, and its total revenue increased by 2 percent, generating a profit for the first time ever. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted a message congratulating the Twitter team on their success.

"I'm so proud of the @Twitter team," he wrote. "We did what we said we were going to do. Our focus and self-discipline continues to improve. Thank you team! And thanks to all of our shareholders for the patience and support. 2018 is going to be a great year."

I’m so proud of the @Twitter team. We did what we said we were going to do. Our focus and self-discipline continues to improve. Thank you team! And thanks to all of our shareholders for the patience and support. 2018 is going to be a great year.

— jack (@jack) February 8, 2018

Despite the site’s financial success in 2017, the number of users has flat-lined. Twitter reported 330 million monthly users at the end of 2017’s fourth quarter, which is a 4 percent increase since 2016 but the same amount as the end of the third quarter. The company has explained this in part by its recent efforts to remove spam accounts.

Twitter has made a real effort to improve the user experience over the past year. In addition to cracking down on fake users, in December, Dorsey announced that the company would be implementing new policies against hate speech. Almost immediately, Twitter banned several accounts associated with white supremacy.

Given Twitter’s recent financial success, it seems that the company’s hard work has paid off. Twitter is demonstrating that it’s definitely a company to keep our eyes on, and we’ll be watching to see how it continues to grow in the next year.