Snap records slowest revenue growth in over a year amid tough competition for ads
(Corrects paragraph 4 to say revenue rose 8.7%, not 8.1%, in the second quarter)
(Reuters) -Snap on Tuesday reported second-quarter revenue growth that was the slowest in more than a year, a sign of growing competition from bigger social media rivals including Meta.
Shares of the Snapchat parent slumped 15% after the bell following the results.
The company's results came after stellar performances by rivals, including Instagram and Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Reddit.
The Snapchat-parent's second-quarter revenue rose 8.7% to $1.34 billion, largely inline with estimates.
The quarterly revenue was hit by changes to its ad platform, the timing of Ramadan and the termination of de minimis exemption or a duty-free import loophole in the U.S.
The company said it had reverted the ad platform change that unintentionally allowed some ads run at much lower prices, hurting revenue growth in the reported quarter.
Snap said its expanded roll-out of the new ad format — Sponsored Snaps, video ads that appear in user inboxes — across the U.S. and several other global regions is helping by driving more user actions and deeper engagement with ad content.
Small and medium-sized businesses were the largest contributors to ad revenue growth and its subscription service Snapchat+ remained a key driver for diversifying revenue beyond advertising.
Snapchat+ subscribers rose 42% to nearly 16 million for the quarter ended June 30. Daily active users rose 9% to 469 million, compared with estimates of 467.9 million.
The company forecast third-quarter revenue between $1.48 billion and $1.51 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.48 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It expects quarterly adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to be between $110 million and $135 million, above estimates of $111.9 million.
For the second quarter, the company's net loss widened to $263 million from $249 million a year ago.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
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