Snap (SNAP) extended its losing streak to the seventh straight session on Friday as the stock ended 1.94% lower at $4.56.

The stock has taken severe blows in the past few sessions, ending -4.32% on Thursday and losing 4.29% on Tuesday. In the six previous sessions, SNAP lost nearly 13% compared to a 2.3% drop in the broader markets.

Earlier in the day, Ofcom, the communication services regulator in the UK, sent a letter to Facebook, Instagram (META), Roblox (RBLX), Snapchat (SNAP), TikTok (TIKTOK), and YouTube (GOOG) (GOOGL) asking them to tighten rules to help keep underage children off their platforms.

Ofcom said it will report on how the companies have responded and will announce any next steps for regulatory action in May. This comes as several countries explore social media restrictions for kids, amid increasing distrust over the firms’ ability to keep children safe on their platforms.

As per Seeking Alpha’s quant rating, the stock has a Hold rating with a score of 2.82 out of 5. SNAP has been rated an A for growth, while it scored a D+ for valuation. Wall Street analysts also held a cautious stance with a Hold rating. However, Seeking Alpha analysts had a Buy call on the stock.

Last month, several analysts expressed optimism over the stock following its quarterly results. Snap reported Q4 revenue and earnings beats, supported by strong ad pricing and user growth outside North America.

Despite losing 4M daily active users in North America, Snap reported 6% Y/Y global MAU growth in Q4 2025, reaching 946M, Seeking Alpha analyst The Asian Investor noted.

“I like the setup here and believe the social media platform could be a major winner in 2026 if the company reaches its 1 billion MAU goal,” it added.

The post Snap ends in the red for seventh straight session appeared first on Up2info.com.

The post Snap’s direct revenue business hits $1B+ ARR milestone appeared first on Up2info.com.

President Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AK

The post Türkiye inches closer towards curbing social media access to minors – Reuters appeared first on Up2info.com.

Here are some of Thursday’s biggest stock movers:

Biggest stock gainers

• Snap (SNAP) +6% – Shares surged after the company delivered strong Q4 operating metrics and issued guidance largely in line with expectations. Daily active users reached 474M, up 21M Y/Y but down 3M sequentially, broadly matching estimates, while ARPU of $3.62 beat the $3.56 consensus. Free cash flow rose 13% to $206M, topping forecasts, and adjusted EBITDA jumped 30% to $358M, well above expectations. Snap attributed the sequential DAU dip partly to a pullback in growth marketing and the removal of ~400,000 accounts in Australia following new age-verification rules. For Q1, Snap guided revenue of $1.50B–$1.53B vs. the consensus of $1.54B, adjusted EBITDA of $170M–$190M, and announced a new $500M share buyback authorization.
• Celestica (CLS) +6% – Shares advanced after the company comfortably beat Street estimates in Q4. Revenue surged 43% Y/Y to $3.65B, topping the $3.49B consensus. Looking ahead, Celestica guided Q1 revenue of $3.85B–$4.15B, with a midpoint of $4.0B surpassing the consensus of $3.62B, and adjusted EPS of $1.95–$2.15, with a midpoint of $2.05 above the consensus of $1.83. The company also raised its full-year 2026 outlook, now expecting revenue of $17.0B and adjusted EPS of $8.75, up from prior guidance of $16.0B and $8.20, citing strong AI-driven data center demand momentum.

Biggest stock losers

• QUALCOMM (QCOM) -11% – Shares slid after the chipmaker issued weak Q2 guidance that fell well short of Wall Street expectations. The company sees adjusted EPS of $2.45–$2.65 vs. the $2.90 consensus, with revenue of $10.2B–$11.0B compared with $11.1B expected. Management said the outlook reflects memory supply constraints and related pricing pressures that are weighing on handset demand. CEO Cristiano Amon noted that while near-term handset trends are pressured, demand for premium smartphones remains healthy, and momentum in personal, industrial, and physical AI continues to build.
• Arm Holdings (ARM) -6% – Shares slid despite solid FQ3 results after licensing revenue missed expectations, coming in at $505M vs. the $519.9M consensus, as the company pushes newer technologies aimed at higher licensing fees. Guidance also failed to excite, with FQ4 adjusted EPS seen at $0.54–$0.62 (midpoint $0.58 vs. $0.56 est.) and revenue guided at $1.42B–$1.52B (midpoint $1.47B vs. $1.44B est.).
• Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) -3% – Shares slipped as investors focused on a sharp step-up in future capital spending despite a Q4 earnings beat on both revenue and profit. While 2025 capex of $91.5B was in line with guidance, management flagged a much steeper ramp for 2026, projecting $175B–$185B vs. expectations of about $119.5B, stoking concerns over AI-driven spending intensity even as demand remains strong.

The post Biggest stock movers Thursday: QCOM, GOOG, and more appeared first on Up2info.com.

Management View

• CEO Evan Spiegel reported that “Last fall, we embarked on a new chapter for our company with the articulation of the Crucible Moment faced by our business. At that time, we laid out our plans to accelerate and diversify our revenue growth, pivot our business toward more profitable growth and deliver on the commercial launch of specs in 2026.” Spiegel highlighted reaching 946 million monthly active users in Q4 and is “within striking distance of our goal to reach 1 billion global monthly active users.” He noted the company will “strike a better balance between the pace of community growth and the rate of top line growth in order to pivot our business to more profitable growth.”

• Spiegel detailed three advertising priorities: “fostering direct connections between brands and Snapchatters,” leveraging AI across the ad platform, and “scaling and optimizing our go-to-market operations that support the success of small- and medium-sized businesses.”

• Subscription growth was emphasized, with Snap reporting subscribers grew 71% year-over-year to reach 24 million in Q4, making it a “critical input metric to track our progress.”

• The CEO described progress toward the near-term goal of 60% gross margins, reporting a 59% gross margin in Q4, and stated, “we believe there is a clear path to exceed this goal in 2026.”

• CFO Derek Andersen stated, “Q4 was a pivotal quarter for our business as we began to see the impact of our strategic focus on profitable growth translate into further revenue diversification, meaningful gross margin expansion, elevated flow-through of top line growth to adjusted EBITDA, the achievement of net income profitability and substantially improved free cash flow generation.”

Outlook

• Management projected Q1 2026 revenue of $1.5 billion to $1.53 billion. Andersen provided guidance for full-year infrastructure costs of $1.6 billion to $1.65 billion and estimated full-year adjusted operating expenses at approximately $3 billion. For Q1, adjusted EBITDA is estimated to be between $170 million and $190 million. The company aims to deliver “meaningful net income profitability over the medium term.”

Financial Results

• Snap’s total revenue for Q4 was $1.72 billion, with advertising revenue at $1.48 billion and other revenue at $232 million. Subscription growth was supported by a 71% year-over-year increase in subscribers to 24 million.

• Adjusted gross margin reached 59% in Q4, up from 55% in Q3. Adjusted EBITDA was $358 million, and net income was $45 million in Q4, marking a $36 million year-over-year improvement. Free cash flow for the quarter stood at $206 million.

• The company ended Q4 with $2.9 billion in cash and marketable securities and announced a new $500 million share repurchase program.

Q&A

• Eric Sheridan, Goldman Sachs: Asked about Snap specs and their integration with the platform. Spiegel responded that the company is “just really focused on getting the hands of early adopters” and plans to “launch with a really wide variety of compelling experiences” for specs later in 2026.

• Ross Sandler, Barclays: Queried about Q1 growth drivers. CFO Andersen said, “the biggest focus is continuing to generate additional demand by demonstrating the strong performance of the ad platform,” highlighting a 28% year-over-year increase in active advertisers and ongoing investment in SMB operations.

• Richard Greenfield, LightShed Partners: Inquired about subscription acceleration and North American user trends. Spiegel attributed subscription growth to Memories storage plans and noted, “our community growth has really outpaced our revenue growth and ARPU has actually declined while we’ve simultaneously increased the cost to serve, which has put downward pressure on our margins,” emphasizing the need for balance between user growth and monetization.

• Daniel Salmon, New Street Research: Asked about regulatory risks and age verification. Spiegel responded, “we’re not overly concerned about the changing regulatory environment” as ad revenue from users under 18 is not material, but acknowledged ongoing engagement headwinds from compliance efforts.

• Kenneth Gawrelski, Wells Fargo: Sought clarity on specs capitalization and synergy. Spiegel described a focus on establishing specs as a stand-alone brand and indicated possible future capital raising after a successful launch.

• Justin Patterson, KeyBanc: Asked about AI coding benefits. Spiegel explained, “something like 40% of new code at Snap is AI generated” and highlighted improvements in workflow automation and creative productivity.

• Benjamin Black, Deutsche Bank: Questioned infrastructure spending moderation. Andersen explained that margin efficiency is being achieved by calibrating cost to serve with monetization potential but stated, “investments in AI and ML will continue to be really important to the performance of the business.”

Sentiment Analysis

• Analyst sentiment was inquisitive but attentive to growth drivers, regulatory risks, and the balance of monetization versus engagement, with a generally neutral to slightly positive tone in their questions.

• Management’s tone remained confident and focused during prepared remarks, frequently referencing strategic clarity and progress toward profitability, such as Andersen’s statement, “we are incredibly proud of the work our team is doing to build on this momentum in Q1.”

• Compared to Q3, management’s sentiment showed increased confidence, emphasizing tangible progress in gross margin and net income profitability, while analysts’ tone shifted slightly toward probing the execution and risks of these strategic pivots.

Quarter-over-Quarter Comparison

• Q4 guidance projected a narrower revenue range than Q3, reflecting increased predictability. Management shifted focus from user growth to profitable growth, as opposed to Q3’s emphasis on expanded user engagement.

• Subscription revenue growth accelerated from 35% year-over-year in Q3 to 71% in Q4, and adjusted gross margin rose from 55% to 59%.

• Analysts in Q4 concentrated more on the sustainability of margin gains, regulatory headwinds, and the specs launch, whereas Q3 questions focused heavily on Perplexity partnership, infrastructure costs, and advertiser mix.

• Management’s confidence in achieving profitability and margin expansion was more pronounced in Q4, and cost controls were highlighted as a key lever, whereas Q3 highlighted innovation and engagement features.

Risks and Concerns

• Management cited regulatory risks and compliance with age verification laws as near-term risks to engagement metrics, mentioning the removal of “approximately 400,000 accounts” in Australia.

• Engagement headwinds were acknowledged as a trade-off for more profitable growth. Management’s mitigation strategy centers on focusing investments in monetizable geographies, rolling out new paid features, and ongoing cost discipline.

• Analysts raised concerns about North American user trends, regulatory impacts, infrastructure cost moderation, and specs’ commercialization strategy.

Final Takeaway

Snap signaled a strategic pivot to prioritize profitable growth and revenue diversification, highlighted by robust subscription momentum, advancements in advertising driven by AI, and tangible progress toward gross margin and net income targets. The company reinforced its commitment to balancing user growth with monetization potential, advancing the specs launch, and navigating regulatory challenges while aiming to surpass 1 billion global monthly active users. Management expressed confidence that these initiatives position Snap for durable top line growth and improved long-term profitability.

Read the full Earnings Call Transcript

The post Snap targets 1B monthly active users while accelerating subscription growth and gross margin expansion appeared first on Up2info.com.

The post Snap in charts: DAU Y/Y growth slows down in Q4 appeared first on Up2info.com.

Daily active users in Q4 were 474M, up by 21M users year-over-year but down by 3M sequentially. However, they are largely in line with the consensus estimate of nearly 477M. Average revenue per user was $3.62 in the quarter, above the estimate of $3.56.

“The decline in Global DAU in Q4 reflects, in part, our decision to substantially reduce our community growth marketing investments in order to focus on more profitable growth,” the company said in its shareholder letter.

During the quarter, Snap said it implemented platform-level age verification in Australia in accordance with a new law requiring users to be at least 16 years old, which resulted in the removal of about 400,000 accounts.

Free cash flow surged 13% to $206M during the quarter, exceeding expectations of $183.8M. Adjusted EBITDA jumped 30% to $358M, topping the $298.8M estimate.

Net income for the three months ended December 31 was $45M, compared to $9M for the same period last year.

On a per-share basis, the Santa Monica, California-based firm earned 3 cents, while the average expectation was a loss of 3 cents per share.

Revenue rose 10% to $1.72B and was above the $1.70B estimate.

For the first quarter, the company guided revenue between $1.50B and $1.53B (est. $1.54B) and adjusted EBITDA of $170M to $190M (mid. $180M; est. $173.7M).

Additionally, Snap authorized a stock buyback of up to $500M of its Class A common stock.

The post Snap tops expectations for key Q4 metrics and forecast; OKs $500M stock buyback appeared first on Up2info.com.

The post Earnings Snapshot: Snap beats Q4 earnings appeared first on Up2info.com.

The post Snap GAAP EPS of $0.03 beats by $0.06, revenue of $1.72B beats by $20M appeared first on Up2info.com.

Snap (SNAP) is scheduled to announce Q4 earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th, after market close.

SNAP shares were down 6.6% on Tuesday.

Wall Street, on average, expects Snapchat’s parent company to post a quarterly EPS of $0.15 (-6.3% Y/Y) on revenue of $1.7B (+9.0% Y/Y).

The company sees revenue between $1.68B and $1.71B and adjusted EBITDA of $280M to $310M.

In the third quarter, Snap reported third-quarter results and forecast that were above expectations and struck a partnership with AI search engine company Perplexity.

Most recently, Snap established “Specs Inc.” as a separate unit within the company as it strives to make a name in the smart eyewear sector.

“Snap remains uninvestable with persistent losses, ongoing dilution, and no tangible progress toward profitability after 15 years,” pointed out a recent Seeking Alpha analysis.

Over the last 2 years, SNAP has beaten EPS estimates 88% of the time and has beaten revenue estimates 63% of the time.

Over the last 3 months, EPS estimates have seen 14 upward revisions and 3 downward. Revenue estimates have seen 23 upward revisions and 11 downward.

Since the start of the year, SNAP shares have fallen over 20%, compared to the 2% rise in the broader S&P 500 index (SP500).

Both Seeking Alpha’s Quant and the Wall Street analysts see the company as a Hold.

The post Snap Q4 2025 earnings preview; Stock down ahead of results appeared first on Up2info.com.