Snap CEO Evan Spiegel speaks during the Semafor World Economy Summit 2025 at Conrad Washington in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 2025.
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images
Snap reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue Tuesday but declined to provide guidance, citing macroeconomic uncertainties that could weigh on advertising demand.
Shares dropped 13% in after-hours trading.
Here is how the company did compared with Wall Street’s expectations:
- Earnings per share: Loss of 8 cents. That figure is not comparable to analysts’ estimates.
- Revenue: $1.36 billion vs. $1.35 billion expected, according to LSEG
- Global daily active users: 460 million vs. 459 million expected, according to StreetAccount
- Global average revenue per user: $2.96 vs. $2.93 expected, according to StreetAccount
Snap did not offer an outlook for the second quarter, citing uncertainties surrounding “how macro economic conditions may evolve in the months ahead, and how this may impact advertising demand more broadly.”
Analysts had expected $1.39 billion in second-quarter revenue guidance. The company said it expects daily active users to come in near the midpoint of its second-quarter range at 468 million.
“While our topline revenue has continued to grow, we have experienced headwinds to start the current quarter, and we believe it is prudent to continue to balance our level of investment with realized revenue growth,” the company said in a letter to investors.
Snap shares over the past year
Like many tech companies, Snap is facing a turbulent macro setup as it grapples with President Donald Trump’s evolving trade plans. Many fear that global trade uncertainty might lead companies to lower guidance or pull back spending this earnings season.
Snap’s cited potential constraints on advertising demand as the reason for holding off on guidance. Ad revenues for the period rose 9% year over year to $1.21 billion. That growth came mainly from direct response advertising. The company also said that brand-oriented advertising revenue dipped 3% from a year ago.
Derek Andersen, Snap’s finance chief, said during an earnings call that some advertisers have reported an impact from changes to the de minimis exemption that’s scheduled to end on Friday. Shipments under $800 can come into the U.S. duty-free under the current loophole.
The company isn’t alone. Last Thursday, Alphabet reported first-quarter sales of $90.23 billion, which surpassed Wall Street expectations, but executives told analysts that the company may experience headwinds to its online ad business in the Asia-Pacific region also related to the de minimis loophole ending.
Snap lowered its full-year adjusted operating expenses range to between $2.65 billion and $2.70 billion, down from $2.70 billion to $2.75 billion. The company also revised its full-year cost guidance for stock-based compensation downward to between $1.13 billion and $1.16 billion from $1.15 billion to $1.20 billion.
Sales in Snap’s first quarter jumped 14% to $1.36 billion from $1.19 billion in the year-ago period. The company reported a net loss of about $140 million, or 8 cents per share. That narrowed 54% from about $305 million, or 19 cents, in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $108 million, topping a $64 million estimate from StreetAccount.
The company attributed the 8 cents loss to a $70.1 million charge related to cash severance, stock-based compensation expenses and other costs associated with a 2024 restructuring.
“These charges are not reflective of underlying trends in our business,” the company said.
Snap posted 460 million daily active users during the period, up from 453 million the previous quarter. The company also said that it reached 900 million monthly active users, up from 850 million in August, the last time Snap provided that stat. Daily active users in North America dropped to 99 million from 100 million last quarter, but Snap said it doesn’t anticipate further declines in the current period.
The company said its Snapchat+ subscription service reached 15 million subscribers, up from 14 million in the previous quarter. The service rolled out in 2022 and makes up the majority of Snap’s “other revenue.” Revenue for the unit rose 75% from a year ago to $152 million.
Meta reports its latest earnings on Wednesday, followed by Reddit on Thursday and Pinterest on May 8.
