Snap's Stock Crashes On Q4 Earnings: Revenue Miss, EPS Beat, Cautious Guidance And More

Snap Inc SNAP reported fourth-quarter earnings after the market closed on Tuesday. Here’s a look at the key metrics from the quarter.

Q4 Earnings: Snap’s fourth-quarter revenue increased 5% year-over-year to $1.361 billion, which missed the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. 

The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings of 8 cents per share, which beat analyst estimates of 6 cents per share.

Daily active users grew 10% year-over-year to 414 million. The company noted that daily active users increased sequentially and year-over-year on both iOS and Android. Total time spent watching Spotlight increased more than 175% year-over-year.

Operating cash flow came in at $165 million, and free cash flow totaled $111 million during the quarter.

“2023 was a pivotal year for Snap, as we transformed our advertising business and continued to expand our global community, reaching 414 million daily active users,” said Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap.

Outlook: Snap did not provide formal guidance last quarter, citing headwinds related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 

In a letter to shareholders, Spiegel noted that the Middle East conflict is estimated to have a two percentage point impact on year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter.

Snap guided for first-quarter revenue of $1.095 billion to $1.135 billion versus estimates of $1.12 billion. The first-quarter adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between negative $55 million and negative $99 million, which appears to be weighing on shares after hours.

“As we enter Q1, we anticipate continued growth of our global community and, as a result, our guidance range is built on the assumption that DAU will be approximately 420 million in Q1,” the company said.

Management will hold a conference call to discuss these results at 6 p.m. ET.

See Also: Meta Platforms Analysts Raise Expectations After Q4 Earnings Beat: ‘Growth, Profits, Buyback & Dividends All In One’

SNAP Price Action: Snap shares were down 30.6% after hours at $12.10 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Diego Thomazini from Shutterstock.