Snap's stock jumps 10% on earnings beat and strong sales forecast
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- Snap beat Q2 revenue expectations ($1.6B vs. $1.54B) and ARPU ($3.25 vs. $3.16), sending shares up over 10% after hours; revenue rose 19% YoY from $1.34B
- Snap posted global DAU of 493M (vs. 487M expected) and narrowed its net loss to $164M from $262.6M YoY, with adjusted earnings of $250M beating the $192M estimate
- Snap guided Q3 revenue to $1.7B–$1.74B (above the $1.7B analyst estimate), though the adjusted earnings midpoint of $325M slightly trails StreetAccount's $327M projection
- CEO Evan Spiegel credited "improving momentum" in the ad business to large North American advertisers and World Cup–related spending, a reversal from May's report that flagged large advertisers as a headwind
- Snap raised full-year infrastructure costs by $50M to $1.65B–$1.7B for AI and machine learning investments, even as North American DAU declined 7% YoY to 92M
- Snapchat+ subscription revenue grew 85% YoY to $316M in Q2; consumer Specs AR glasses will cost $2,195 with a $200 refundable deposit and ship later this year
Why it matters: Snap's 10% after-hours surge stands out against a punishing week for online ad peers — Reddit shares tumbled on user-growth concerns and Meta dropped on weak guidance and crushing AI capex — making Snap's ARPU and revenue beats a rare bright spot. Yet North American DAU still fell 7% YoY while revenue rose 19%, and Snap is piling on another $50M in AI infrastructure spend, meaning ad-recovery gains are arriving alongside a shrinking core user base and rising costs.
