Snap, the parent company of the photo-sharing app Snapchat, defied analysts' expectations in the first quarter of the year — as its better-than-expected revenues and earnings per share briefly sent its stock soaring after it reported its results.
But investors appeared to have second thoughts as they contemplated the company's stalled user-growth numbers, and Snap shares quickly gave back most of the gains.
The company saw $320 million in revenue for the quarter, besting consensus estimates of $307.4 million and growing 39% year-over-year. And it enjoyed 190 million daily active users, versus a 186.8 million prediction.
The results are welcome news for the company, which has struggled as it faces sustained pressure from the Facebook-owned Instagram and has suffered in the wake of a widely criticized redesign in 2018. But even before Tuesday's results, Snap's stock had been making a comeback: Before market close, it was hovering around $12 a share — up more than 100% from lows of less than $5 in December 2018.
Snap's stock initially leaped as much as 12% in after-hours trading after the news, but it has since receded. As of writing, it was up about 2.5%.
CEO Evan Spiegel hailed the company's growth in daily users and revenues in a statement and said the company's new Android app — long promised as a key to unlocking future growth — was yielding "promising early results."
Here are the key numbers, as well as what Wall Street was expecting (estimates via Bloomberg):
- Earnings per share (adjusted): minus $0.10 (minus $0.12 predicted)
- Revenue: $320 million ($307.4 million predicted)
- Daily Active Users: 190 million (186.8 million expected)
- Q2 revenue guidance: $335 million to $360 million, versus $348 million expected by analysts
- Q2 adjusted EBITDA guidance: negative ($150 million) to negative ($125 million).
In a copy of his prepared remarks released ahead of Snap's earnings call with investors, Spiegel emphasized the company's reach with young people: "We have achieved significant reach with Millennials and Gen Z in key markets like the United States, where we now reach 75 percent of all 13-34 year-olds. As of March, our ads can now reach more 13-34 year-olds than Instagram in the United States."
That said, the company's user growth, while not declining as much as feared, appears to be stalled, as the chart below shows:
Got a tip? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (650) 636-6268 using a non-work phone, email at rprice@bjinnox.com, Telegram or WeChat at robaeprice, or Twitter DM at @robaeprice. (PR pitches by email only, please.) You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.
