SNAP

The social media giant is pouring record sums into an artificial intelligence future, forcing investors to decide if they are buying a proven profit machine or funding an unproven science project. Meta Platforms (META) is a company you know, but it may not be the company you think it is anymore. For years, it was the undisputed king of social media advertising. Today, it’s in the middle of a pivot into one of the most expensive, ambitious artificial intelligence builds the world has ever seen. After gaining 20% over the past month, the stock still trades about 13% below its 52-week high, leaving investors to weigh whether they are buying a dominant business at a reasonable price or funding a very expensive vision with no clear path to profit. When you look at Meta’s valuation, the market seems to be telling two different stories. On one hand, the stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.7, roughly in line with the S&P 500’s 24.2. On cash flow, it even looks a bit cheaper, at 13.5 times operating cash flow versus the market’s 15.3. But on the other hand, its price-to-sales ratio of 7.8 is more than double the market average of 3.3. Investors are paying a steep premium for Meta’s phenomenal sales growth, which has averaged 22% annually over the last three years compared to 5.9% for the S&P 500. At the same time, the more modest earnings and cash flow multiples suggest a deep-seated caution about the large spending required to keep that growth engine running. What you get for that price is a business of genuinely rare quality. The core engine, the Family of Apps, including Facebook and Instagram, reaches an estimated 3.56 billion people daily and is a profit powerhouse. In the most recent quarter, revenue grew 33% year over year. The company runs an operating margin of 41%, more than double the S&P 500’s 18.4%, and converts a remarkable 58% of its revenue into operating cash flow. Management’s plan is to funnel this gusher of cash into its next act: building what it calls “personal super intelligence” through its new Meta Super Intelligence Labs. This involves developing its own foundational AI models, to power a new generation of personal and business agents. This vision is backed by a balance sheet built for exactly this kind of large project; with debt at just 5.2% of its market value and $124.0 billion in operating cash flow generated over the last y...

Snap Inc. recently unveiled SPECS, its standalone augmented reality glasses priced at US$2,195 and set to ship in the US, UK, and France from fall 2026, while also scheduling its second-quarter 2026 earnings call for August 3, 2026. The combination of a high-end AR hardware launch and heightened attention on upcoming earnings has sharpened focus on how Snap’s innovation efforts intersect with its operating performance and cash generation. Next, we’ll examine how the launch of SPECS as a standalone AR device may reshape Snap’s investment narrative and risk profile. Find 44 companies with promising cash flow potential yet trading below their fair value. To own Snap today, you need to believe it can turn its large, engaged audience and AR capabilities into sustainable profitability, despite intense competition and a history of losses. The SPECS launch and the upcoming Q2 2026 earnings call focus attention on whether Snap’s innovation can coexist with disciplined cash generation. For now, the high-end AR glasses announcement does not materially change the key near term catalyst of ad platform execution or the primary risk of persistent unprofitability. The most relevant recent development here is Snap’s unveiling of SPECS as a standalone US$2,195 AR device, shipping in select markets from fall 2026. This marks a shift from AR as a purely in-app feature to AR as dedicated hardware, tying directly into the bullish catalyst around AR monetization while also amplifying the risk that heavy hardware and R&D spending could weigh on margins if uptake disappoints. Yet behind the excitement around SPECS, investors should be aware of the growing legal and regulatory scrutiny that could... Read the full narrative on Snap (it's free!) Snap's narrative projects $8.1 billion revenue and $402.1 million earnings by 2029. Uncover how Snap's forecasts yield a $7.58 fair value, a 62% upside to its current price. While consensus focuses on AR upside, the lowest analysts were already cautious, modeling only about 6.2 percent annual revenue growth and no profitability within three years before this news, so you may want to compare that more pessimistic view with your own expectations. Explore 9 other fair value estimates on Snap - why the stock might be worth over 3x more than the current price! Don't just follow the ticker - dig into the data and build a conviction that's truly your...

Snap’s stock price has taken a beating over the past six months, shedding 42.7% of its value and falling to $4.69 per share. This might have investors contemplating their next move. Following the pullback, is this a buying opportunity for SNAP? Find out in our full research report, it’s free. Founded by Stanford University students Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown, and Bobby Murphy, and originally called Picaboo, Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) is an image centric social media network. Operating income is often evaluated to assess a company’s underlying profitability. In a similar vein, EBITDA is used to analyze consumer internet companies because it excludes various one-time or non-cash expenses (depreciation), providing a clearer view of the business’s profit potential. Snap has been an efficient company over the last two years. It was one of the more profitable businesses in the consumer internet sector, boasting an average EBITDA margin of 11.9%. This result was particularly impressive because of its low gross margin, which is mostly a factor of what it sells and takes huge shifts to move meaningfully. Companies have more control over their operating margins, and it’s a show of well-managed operations if they’re high when gross margins are low. Analyzing the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) shows whether a company’s incremental sales were profitable — for example, revenue could be inflated through excessive spending on advertising and promotions. Snap’s EPS grew at 24.5% compounded annual growth rate over the last three years, higher than its 10.4% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded. If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills. As you can see below, Snap’s margin expanded by 8.8 percentage points over the last few years. This shows the company is heading in the right direction, and we can see it became a less capital-intensive business because its free cash flow profitability rose more than its operating profitability. Snap’s free cash flow margin for the trailing 12 months was 10%. These are just a few reasons why we’re bullish on Snap. After the recent drawdown, the stock trades at 6.9× forward EV/EBITDA (or $4.69 per share). Is now the...

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 09, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss second quarter 2026 financial results on Monday, August 3, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time). A live webcast and replay of the conference call will be accessible on Snap Inc.’s Investor Relations website for at least 90 days at: http://investor.snap.com. About Snap Inc. Snap Inc. is a technology company. We believe the camera presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. Snap contributes to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. Snap Inc. operates Snapchat, a visual messaging app that enhances your relationships with friends, family, and the world, and Specs Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary dedicated to making computing more human, in addition to Bitmoji, Saturn, and other digital services. For more information, visit snap.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260709968427/en/ Contacts Investors and Analysts:[email protected] Press:[email protected]

Wrapping up Q1 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the social networking stocks, including Snap (NYSE:SNAP) and its peers. Businesses must meet their customers where they are, which over the past decade has come to mean on social networks. In 2020, users spent over 2.5 hours a day on social networks, a figure that has increased every year since measurement began. As a result, businesses continue to shift their advertising and marketing dollars online. The 5 social networking stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.1% above. In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results. Founded by Stanford University students Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown, and Bobby Murphy, and originally called Picaboo, Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) is an image centric social media network. Snap reported revenues of $1.53 billion, up 12.1% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates. “In Q1, we returned to growth in daily active users, accelerated revenue growth, expanded margins, and generated strong free cash flow,” said Evan Spiegel, CEO. Snap delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 20.8% since reporting and currently trades at $4.84. We think Snap is a good business, but is it a buy today? Read our full report here, it’s free. Founded in 2005 by two University of Virginia roommates, Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) facilitates user-generated content across niche communities (called subreddits) that discuss anything from stocks to dating and memes. Reddit reported revenues of $663.4 million, up 69.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 8.8%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and EBITDA guidance for next quarter topping analysts’ expectations. Reddit delivered the...

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Snap (SNAP). Shares have added about 1.5% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500. But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Snap due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Snap Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late. Snap reported a first-quarter 2026 net loss of 5 cents per share. Adjusted earnings came in at 10 cents per share compared with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 9 cents. Revenues rose 12% year over year to $1.529 billion and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.55%. The figure came in at the top end of the company's prior guidance range of $1.5-$1.53 billion.Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled, climbing 115% year over year to $233 million, materially favorable to the company's prior guidance.Snap returned to growth in daily active users, accelerated revenue growth, expanded margins and generated strong free cash flow in the reported quarter. Revenues from North America (56% of total revenues) rose 2% year over year to $851 million. Revenues from Europe (21% of revenues) jumped 45% to $324 million. Revenues from the Rest of World (ROW) (23% of revenues) were $354 million, up 15% year over year.The average revenue per user (ARPU) increased 7% year over year to $3.17. North America's ARPU climbed 10% to $9.23, while Europe's ARPU surged 48% to $3.34. ARPU for ROW rose 3% year over year to $1.20.Advertising revenues reached $1.24 billion in the quarter, up 3% year over year, driven primarily by growth in direct response advertising. The performance was partially offset by continued headwinds in the North America large-client advertising business and an estimated $20-$25 million impact from geopolitical headwinds in the Middle East during March. Global impression volume increased approximately 17% year over year, while total eCPMs declined approximately 12% year over year.Other Revenue, which includes Snapchat+ subscriptions, Memories Storage and the newly introduced Lens+ tier, increased 87% year over year to $285 million in the first quarter, reaching an annualized run rate of approximately $1.14 billion. Memories Storage was a key driver of acceleration, with a lar...

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) is among the most traded US stocks so far in 2026. Saken Ismailov, an analyst at Freedom Broker, downgraded Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) to Hold from Buy, while cutting the price target from $8 to $7, on May 12. This follows the company’s “mixed” first-quarter results. As reported by TheFly, the firm expects no rebound in the company’s advertising segment. The Q1 earnings report largely drew a subdued reaction from Wall Street. On May 8, RBC Capital trimmed the price target on Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) to $8 from $10 and maintained a Sector Perform rating. In a research note, the analyst said that the quarter was once again mixed for the company as customer challenges were offset by robust subscription and ad platform green shoots. With spending by big names standing still down YoY, and ongoing Middle East tensions, significant acceleration is difficult to justify. Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash On the same day, Morgan Stanley slightly lifted the price target on the company to $7 from $6.50 and reaffirmed an Equal Weight rating. With such mixed views, Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) remains one of the most traded US stocks so far in 2026. Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) is a California-based technology company that offers a visual messaging application, augmented reality (AR) glasses, advertising products, and related subscription services. While we acknowledge the potential of SNAP as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.

Intuit reported better-than-expected financial results for its crucial tax season Wednesday, while also announcing a round of layoffs. Intuit said it’s reducing its full-time workforce by 17%. According to Layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks tech layoffs, 114,173 tech employees have lost their jobs in 2026.

Snap’s first quarter results met Wall Street’s revenue expectations and showed notable progress in narrowing operating losses. Management attributed the quarter’s performance to continued growth in Snapchat’s global user base and a strong acceleration in subscription revenue, particularly from the Snapchat+ and Memories Storage offerings. CEO Evan Spiegel pointed to improved engagement, with Spotlight and augmented reality features driving increased daily activity. CFO Derek Andersen emphasized that operational efficiencies and targeted investments in AI-powered tools led to better gross margins and improved adjusted EBITDA. Is now the time to buy SNAP? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $1.53 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.53 billion (12.1% year-on-year growth, in line) EPS (GAAP): -$0.05 vs analyst estimates of -$0.07 ($0.02 beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $233.3 million vs analyst estimates of $213.1 million (15.3% margin, 9.5% beat) Operating Margin: -4.9%, up from -14.2% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $9.20 billion While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Ross Sandler (Barclays) asked about drivers behind the Q2 revenue acceleration guidance. CFO Derek Andersen explained the acceleration is primarily attributed to improving conditions in the North America ad business and stronger upfront commitments. Michael Nathanson (MoffettNathanson) questioned the potential for Snap to open its ad inventory to third-party demand-side platforms (DSPs). CEO Evan Spiegel said the company values direct advertiser relationships but may selectively consider partnerships for upper-funnel video demand. Richard Greenfield (LightShed Partners) pressed on North America ad revenue declines and balancing focus between subscriptions and ads. Spiegel noted improving monetizable user trends and strength in SMB advertisers, while acknowledging ongoing challenges with large customers. Nitin Bansal (Bank of America) inquired about the sustainability of Snapchat+ growth and future monetization opportunities. Spiegel pointed to product innovation, new feature rollouts like Creator Subscriptions, a...

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2026) - Vertiqal Studios Corp. (TSX: VRTS) (FSE: 9PY0) ("Vertiqal" or the "Company") Vertiqal Studios, a leading digital-channel network and video-production studio, as well as the owner of North America's largest gaming and lifestyle network on social media, today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2026. Key Financial Highlights for First Quarter 2026: Vertiqal generated revenue of $726,091 for the three months ended March 31, 2026, an increase of $20,246, or 2.9%, compared to $705,845 in the prior year period. Gross profit for Q1 2026 was $532,751, representing a gross margin of 73.4%, compared to gross profit of $567,186 and a gross margin of 80.4% in Q1 2025. The compression in gross margin reflects the shift in revenue mix toward direct media advertising, which carries higher associated content production and delivery costs relative to the Snapchat programmatic revenue it partially displaced. The overall growth reflects two offsetting segment-level dynamics; (i) direct media advertising revenue increased meaningfully compared to Q1 2025, driven by stronger brand partnership activity; and (ii) the contribution of new insertion order demand across the Company's owned and operated social media channels. The revenue growth reflects both the expansion of the Company's channel footprint following the Enthusiast Gaming asset acquisition in September 2025 and improved monetization of its digital advertising inventory. The revenue growth was partially offset by a decline in Snapchat programmatic revenue compared to Q1 2025. The decrease reflects continued softness in the Snapchat advertising market, including lower CPM rates and reduced demand from brand advertisers on the platform, consistent with broader industry trends in short-form OTT monetization. Snapchat programmatic revenue, which is recognized on a net revenue-share basis with minimal incremental cost of sales, represented a proportionally larger share of the prior year revenue base; as direct media arrangements — which require the Company to fulfil insertion orders and deliver content directly to brand advertisers — became a more significant contributor in Q1 2026, cost of sales increased accordingly. 2026 Outlook: The Company received CAD $2.7 million (USD $1.948 million) in private placement proceeds during through the iss...

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) primarily generates revenue through advertising, and by offering digital communication applications and virtual reality hardware to users worldwide. It recently expanded an infrastructure partnership with Broadcom to develop custom hardware for its operations, and it reported an approximately 48% net income margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Snap (NYSE:SNAP) operates a visual communication application and provides wearable camera products and advertising services globally. It announced a strategic agreement with Qualcomm to power future generations of its wearable hardware, while posting an approximately negative 6% net income margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Revenue serves as a foundational metric that shows investors the total amount of money a business brings in before operating expenses are deducted. This helps investors gauge raw business scale and growth. Image source: The Motley Fool. Data source: Company filings. Data as of May 10, 2026. Comparing the revenue for Meta Platforms and Snap reveals insightful trends. Both operate in the social media space, rely heavily on digital advertising for income, and are experiencing rising revenue. Beyond that, their stories diverge. Meta is seeing spectacular sales growth. Its first quarter revenue of $56.3 billion represented a 33% year-over-year jump. Compare that to Snap’s 12% Q1 sales increase to $1.5 billion, which is a solid result, but not the outsized performance delivered by Meta. The Facebook parent’s enormous revenue increase shows its business strategies are working. Meta invested heavily in artificial intelligence in recent years, and its strong sales suggests AI is helping. The company has also extended its AI use into hardware with virtual reality headsets and AI-infused sunglasses. The latter saw the number of people using them triple year over year in Q1. Snap’s sales trend indicates the company is growing. Its daily active users rose 5% year over year in Q1. However, unlike Meta, Snap isn’t profitable, posting a Q1 net loss of $89 million. Its modest revenue gains contrasted against unprofitable operations is concerning when AI is expensive technology to implement. Snap’s sales trend reveals its use of AI to date hasn’t supercharged its income to the same degree as Meta. Unless revenue starts to accelerate, as an unprofitable enterprise, invest...

The first-quarter results for Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. Revenues of US$1.5b arrived in line with expectations, although statutory losses per share were US$0.05, an impressive 27% smaller than what broker models predicted. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Snap after the latest results. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Snap from 40 analysts is for revenues of US$6.70b in 2026. If met, it would imply a solid 9.8% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 61% to US$0.095. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$6.70b and losses of US$0.15 per share in 2026. Although the revenue estimates have not really changed Snap'sfuture looks a little different to the past, with a considerable decrease in the loss per share forecasts in particular. See our latest analysis for Snap There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of US$7.67, suggesting that reduced loss estimates are not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock's valuation. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic Snap analyst has a price target of US$15.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$4.00. With such a wide range in price targets, analysts are almost certainly betting on widely divergent outcomes in the underlying business. With this in mind, we wouldn't rely too heavily the consensus price target, as it is just an average and analysts clearly have some deeply divergent views on the business. Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. The analysts are definite...