Snap Reports Q4 Revenue Beat Amid Market Decline
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1h ago
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Should l Buy SNAP?
Source: stocktwits
- Revenue Growth: Snap's Q4 revenue increased by 10% year-over-year to $1.72 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion, indicating stable growth in advertising sales despite a declining market sentiment.
- Stock Price Plunge: Despite the upbeat earnings report, Snap's stock plummeted 13.4% on Thursday, marking its steepest drop since last August, reflecting investor concerns over tech stocks and market uncertainty.
- Forecast Outlook: Snap expects Q1 revenue to be between $1.5 billion and $1.53 billion, falling short of analysts' projections of $1.55 billion, indicating potential weakness in growth prospects that could affect investor confidence.
- Analyst Ratings: Despite the stock decline, analysts from Wells Fargo and B. Riley remain optimistic about Snap, noting a positive shift towards subscriptions in its business model, with B. Riley upgrading its rating to 'Buy' while maintaining a price target of $10.
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Analyst Views on SNAP
Wall Street analysts forecast SNAP stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for SNAP is 9.57 USD with a low forecast of 7.00 USD and a high forecast of 13.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
28 Analyst Rating
2 Buy
24 Hold
2 Sell
Hold
Current: 5.910
Low
7.00
Averages
9.57
High
13.00
Current: 5.910
Low
7.00
Averages
9.57
High
13.00
About SNAP
Snap Inc. is a technology company. Its flagship product, Snapchat, is a visual messaging application that enhances relationships with friends, family, and the world. Snapchat is the Company's core mobile device application and contains five tabs, complemented by additional tools that function outside the application. Snapchatters can interact with any or all the five tabs. Additionally, it offers Snapchat+, its subscription product that provides subscribers access to exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features. Snapchat+ offers a range of features, from allowing Snapchatters to customize the look and feel of their application, to giving special insights into their friendships. The Company also offers Snapchat for Web, a browser-based product that brings Snapchats calling and messaging capabilities to the Web. Its advertising products include AR Ads and Snap Ads. Snap Ads include Single Image or Video Ads, Story Ads, Collection Ads, Dynamic Ads, Commercials, and Sponsored Snaps.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Earnings Beat: Snap Inc. reported quarterly earnings of three cents per share, surpassing analyst expectations of a three-cent loss, with quarterly revenue reaching $1.72 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.702 billion by 0.84%, reflecting a 10.21% year-over-year increase.
- User Metrics Decline: Despite the revenue beat, daily active users (DAU) fell to 474,000 in Q4 from 477,000 in Q3, although the company achieved 946 million global monthly active users (MAU), marking a 6% year-over-year increase.
- Technical Analysis Shows Pressure: The stock is currently trading 29.1% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 32.4% below its 100-day SMA, indicating significant bearish pressure, with shares down 49.62% over the past 12 months.
- Analyst Ratings and Target Downgrades: The stock carries a Hold rating with an average price target of $10.01, while recent downgrades from Evercore ISI, Wells Fargo, and Cantor Fitzgerald on February 5 lowered targets to $9.00, $8.00, and $7.00, respectively.
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- Revenue Growth: Snap's Q4 revenue increased by 10% year-over-year to $1.72 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion, indicating stable growth in advertising sales despite a declining market sentiment.
- Stock Price Plunge: Despite the upbeat earnings report, Snap's stock plummeted 13.4% on Thursday, marking its steepest drop since last August, reflecting investor concerns over tech stocks and market uncertainty.
- Forecast Outlook: Snap expects Q1 revenue to be between $1.5 billion and $1.53 billion, falling short of analysts' projections of $1.55 billion, indicating potential weakness in growth prospects that could affect investor confidence.
- Analyst Ratings: Despite the stock decline, analysts from Wells Fargo and B. Riley remain optimistic about Snap, noting a positive shift towards subscriptions in its business model, with B. Riley upgrading its rating to 'Buy' while maintaining a price target of $10.
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- Earnings Surprise: Snap Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings of 3 cents per share, surpassing expectations of a 3-cent loss, with revenue rising 10.2% year-over-year to $1.72 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.70 billion, indicating improved profitability.
- User Engagement Decline: Despite the earnings beat, North American daily active users fell sequentially, and global daily active users also missed estimates, attributed to reduced community marketing spend and regulatory-driven account removals in Australia, highlighting increasing competitive pressure.
- Intensifying Competition: Analyst Boone noted that stronger AI-driven content recommendations from competitors challenge Snap's ability to retain user attention and defend advertising share, with projected stock-based compensation for 2025 expected to exceed EBITDA, indicating cost control pressures.
- Future Strategic Initiatives: Snap is testing new social features to better compete with Instagram and TikTok, with the planned 2026 launch of Specs potentially serving as a differentiated mass-market AI glasses platform, although revenue from the Perplexity integration remains excluded from near-term guidance.
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- Analyst Rating Changes: Top Wall Street analysts have adjusted their ratings on several companies, including upgrades, downgrades, and initiations, reflecting varying market perspectives on these stocks.
- Market Focus: Analysts' views on SNAP stock have garnered investor attention, and while specific ratings are not detailed in the report, there remains a divergence in market expectations for its future performance.
- Impact of Rating Changes: The changes in ratings could influence investor decisions, especially in the current market environment where reliance on analyst opinions is heightened, potentially leading to stock price volatility.
- Further Information: For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades, and initiations, it is recommended to visit Benzinga's analyst ratings page for more comprehensive information and data.
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- Earnings Beat Expectations: Snap reported earnings of $0.03 per share in Q4, surpassing the consensus estimate of a $0.03 loss, indicating a positive shift in profitability that may attract more investor interest.
- Significant Revenue Growth: The company achieved quarterly revenue of $1.72 billion, a 10.21% increase from $1.557 billion in the same period last year, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.702 billion, demonstrating progress in revenue diversification.
- Decline in User Engagement: Despite revenue growth, Snap's daily active users (DAU) fell from 477,000 in Q3 to 474,000 in Q4, reflecting challenges in user growth that could impact future revenue potential.
- Analyst Target Adjustments: Following the earnings announcement, several analysts adjusted their price targets for Snap, with Susquehanna lowering its target from $9 to $6.5, indicating a cautious outlook on the company's future performance.
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- Strong Revenue Growth: Snap posted a 10% increase in Q4 revenue to $1.72 billion, slightly beating Street estimates of $1.70 billion, driven largely by an 89% surge in its In-App Optimizations segment, indicating successful enhancements in user experience and advertising effectiveness.
- Analyst Upgrade: B. Riley upgraded Snap from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Buy’ while maintaining a price target of $10, implying a 70% upside from Wednesday's closing price of $5.90, reflecting market confidence in Snap's future growth potential.
- Stable User Growth: Snap's global monthly active users reached 946 million, up 6%, providing a solid foundation for future advertising revenue and user retention, while also setting the stage for the upcoming launch of Specs.
- Market Sentiment Turns Positive: Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone with high message volumes, indicating investor confidence in Snap's advertising revenue growth, despite the stock having declined nearly 30% this year.
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