Snap forecast current-quarter sales and adjusted core earnings below market expectations on Thursday as the Snapchat owner grapples with stiff competition from larger rivals for advertising dollars in an uncertain economy.
The image-messaging platform’s second-quarter revenue of $1.24 billion also missed analysts’ estimates of $1.25 billion, according to LSEG data.
Considered a more experimental advertising platform, Snap’s revenue growth has come under pressure over the past few quarters as sticky inflation and rising interest rates prompt enterprise clients to tighten their marketing budgets.
Image pinboard platform Pinterest also projected a muted third quarter on Wednesday, dashing investor hopes of a swift rebound in growth.
Snap faces tough competition from Meta Platforms‘s Facebook and Instagram as well as Bytedance‘s TikTok, all of which outrank it in terms of scale and established advertiser relationships.
Still, analysts have said the company is set to benefit from a potential ban on TikTok in the United States as advertisers turn to Snapchat to grab the attention of younger users.
Snap forecast a third-quarter revenue range with a midpoint of $1.355 billion, marginally below Wall Street estimates of $1.36 billion.
It expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization between $70 million and $100 million in the third quarter, below expectations of $110.8 million.
Daily active users (DAU) of Snapchat grew to 432 million at the end of June, beating estimates of 431.2 million. The Santa Monica, California-based company expects its DAU to reach 441 million in the third quarter.
—Akash Sriram, Reuters