Latest news with #SnapInc
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Pinterest Down 12.5% in Three Months: Should You Avoid PINS Stock?
Pinterest, Inc. PINS declined 12.5% over the past three months against the Internet - Software 's growth of 2.4%.The stock has also underperformed the Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the S&P 500's growth of 4.5% and 1%, respectively. However, it has outperformed peers like Snap Inc. SNAP but lagged Meta Platforms, Inc. META over this period. Snap has declined 15.5%, while META has fallen 1.1% during this period. Key Growth Catalysts for PINS Pinterest serves a wide range of end markets, including retail, consumer packaged goods, travel, financial services, and auto. The company is actively seeking to expand into new markets to increase its user engagement. Pinterest recently formed a collaboration with the championship-winning WNBA team, New York Liberty. Through this partnership, Pinterest aims to bring exclusive content and in-game experiences to its platform, inspiring fans and expanding community outreach. Interest in women's basketball is increasing steadily, and this collaboration will allow PINS to tap into the growing audience base in the WNBA. This will likely open up monetization opportunities in the sports marketing space from various athletic wear companies and fitness organizations. The company's focus on improving operational rigor and incorporating sophisticated AI models to enhance relevancy and personalization is likely to bring long-term benefits. It also emphasizes building new ad tools and formats to help grow the scope of monetization on the platform. This will enable advertisers to measure the results and conversion rates, which will improve their decision-making. Its newly added visual search feature is expected to provide a more personalized discovery experience to its user base. Instead of finding the right keywords, the tool allows users to use images as their search starting point. A refinement bar enables the user to filter based on color, style and fabric. Its Visual Language Models and industry-leading multimodal embedding models empower users to find exact content through a combination of text and image. Integration of such leading-edge generative AI tools will likely boost engagement on the platform. Management's focus on enhancing monetization opportunities is driving revenue growth. In the first quarter of 2025, Shopping ad revenues in the international market grew three times faster than overall revenue growth in those regions. Advertisers and retailers are benefiting from enhanced ad efficiency and campaign performance by using Pinterest's AI-powered Performance+ suite. The company is also integrating AI capabilities to improve productivity across operations. Major Challenges for PINS Pinterest is heavily dependent on advertising as its primary source of revenue. Any adverse changes in the advertising industry, shift in advertiser preferences, or economic downturns can significantly affect the company's financial performance. Although the company recorded 49% growth in ad impressions in the first quarter, ad pricing declined 22% year over year, owing to lower ad pricing in Pinterest's newly expanded international markets. The company is facing intense competition from various media companies such as Meta (including Facebook and Instagram), Google (including YouTube), Snap, Reddit, TikTok and X. Many of its competitors are larger and have significant financial resources. To fend off the competition, Pinterest has to continuously increase its investments in new tool development, which is putting pressure on its margins. In the first quarter of 2025, Total costs and expenses were $890.5 million, up from $794.4 million in the year-ago quarter. On a GAAP basis, research and development expenses rose to $331.7 million from $280.3 million. Macroeconomic volatility is impacting some subsectors of the consumer-packaged goods vertical. Moreover, various Asia-based e-commerce retailers are lowering ad spend in the U.S. market, owing to tariff changes. These factors remain a major concern for the company. Estimate Revision Trend of PINS Pinterest is currently witnessing a downtrend in estimate revisions. Earnings estimates for PINS for 2025 have moved down 1.62% to $1.82 over the past 60 days, while the same for 2026 has decreased 2.3% to $2.12. The negative estimate revision portrays bearish sentiments about the stock's growth potential. Key Valuation Metric of PINS From a valuation standpoint, Pinterest appears to be relatively cheaper compared to the industry and below its mean. Going by the price/sales ratio, the company shares currently trade at 4.8 forward sales, lower than 5.44 for the industry and lower than the stock's mean of 5.21. End Note Pinterest is witnessing strong monthly active user growth across all regions. Strong emphasis on enhancing shoppability and monetization potential across the platform and the incorporation of advanced AI-integrated tools to support advertisers and retailers are tailwinds. Strategic collaboration to venture into a new market segment is positive. However, macroeconomic factors, geopolitical volatility and tariff changes are impacting ad spend in some regions. Growing operating expenses to support the expansion of domestic and international operations are weighing on margins. Stiff competition from other consumer internet companies remains a headwind. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), PINS appears to be treading in the middle of the road, and new investors could be better off if they trade with caution. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock It's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom. With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028. See This Stock Now for Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Snap Inc. (SNAP): Free Stock Analysis Report Pinterest, Inc. (PINS): Free Stock Analysis Report Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis Report
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Snapchat Snaps Back on State Law
The company that operates Snapchat asked a federal judge this week to put on hold — or reject — a lawsuit filed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier alleging violations of a 2024 state law aimed at keeping children off some social-media platforms. Attorneys for Snap Inc. argued in a 49-page filing Wednesday that Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker should issue a stay of Uthmeier's lawsuit while a case filed last year by the tech-industry groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association plays out. The industry groups, which allege the law (HB 3) violates First Amendment rights, are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the measure. 'Snap — through its membership in NetChoice — and the attorney general have fully briefed and submitted their arguments on the motion for a preliminary injunction to enjoin HB 3 under the First Amendment, and a decision granting that motion would dramatically affect the disputes in the present case,' Snap's attorneys wrote. 'Allowing the present case to proceed before that decision would be duplicative, wasteful, and unfair.' But if Walker turns down the request for a stay, Snap argued he should dismiss Uthmeier's lawsuit. The law seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts on platforms that meet certain criteria — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 could not open accounts. 'The statute categorically bars individuals under age 14 from creating accounts on the websites it covers and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds, infringing on protected speech of minors,' wrote Snap's attorneys, who include former state Solicitor General Christopher Kise. 'As numerous courts have concluded, requiring minors to obtain parental consent before accessing 'social media' abridges First Amendment rights.' Uthmeier filed the lawsuit April 21 in state court in Santa Rosa County, with the case moved last week to federal court. The law was one of the highest-profile issues of the 2024 legislative session, with supporters saying it targets addictive features of social-media platforms — a key argument in Uthmeier's lawsuit against Snap. 'Despite being subject to HB 3, Snap contracts with and provides accounts to Florida users who it knows are younger than 14,' the lawsuit said. 'It also fails to seek parental consent before contracting with and providing accounts to Florida users who it knows are 14 or 15 years old. Snap is openly and knowingly violating HB 3, and each violation constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice under FDUTPA (a state law known as the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act).' The law did not name platforms that would be affected but included a definition of such platforms, with criteria related to such things as algorithms, addictive features and allowing users to view the content or activities of other users. Uthmeier's lawsuit alleged that Snapchat meets criteria, such as having addictive features, that make it subject to the age restrictions. For example, the lawsuit said Snapchat uses 'push notifications' that appear on users' phone screens when they are not using the platform. 'Push notifications exploit users' natural tendency to seek and attend to environmental feedback, serving as distractors that monopolize attention,' the lawsuit said. 'Young users are especially sensitive to these triggers and less able to control their response and resist reopening the app. Snapchat sends push notifications to users, regardless of age, frequently and at all hours of the day and night.' But in the filing Wednesday, Snap's attorneys raised a series of arguments, including that the law violates the First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause and is preempted by a federal law known as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. In addition to arguing that the law infringes on speech rights of minors, Snap's attorneys contended that its age-verification requirements violate the rights of adults. 'The statute also burdens the rights of adults to access covered services,' the filing said. 'Because it requires age-verification, it effectively requires everyone, including adults, to verify their ages before accessing those services — or, more precisely, to surrender sensitive personal information prior to accessing protected speech. As courts have repeatedly reaffirmed, requiring adults to verify their age before accessing speech significantly burdens First Amendment rights.' In the lawsuit filed last year by the industry groups, Walker on March 13 turned down an initial request for a preliminary injunction, saying the groups had not shown they had legal standing to challenge the law. But the groups on March 28 filed a revised lawsuit and a renewed motion for a preliminary injunction. That motion remained pending as of Friday morning. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Snap Inc. asks judge to pause or dismiss Florida lawsuit accusing platform of violating state social media law
The company that operates Snapchat asked a federal judge this week to put on hold — or reject — a lawsuit filed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier alleging violations of a 2024 state law aimed at keeping children off some social-media platforms. Attorneys for Snap Inc. argued in a 49-page filing Wednesday that Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker should issue a stay of Uthmeier's lawsuit while a case filed last year by the tech-industry groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association plays out. The industry groups, which allege the law (HB 3) violates First Amendment rights, are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the measure. "Snap — through its membership in NetChoice — and the attorney general have fully briefed and submitted their arguments on the motion for a preliminary injunction to enjoin HB 3 under the First Amendment, and a decision granting that motion would dramatically affect the disputes in the present case," Snap's attorneys wrote. "Allowing the present case to proceed before that decision would be duplicative, wasteful, and unfair." But if Walker turns down the request for a stay, Snap argued he should dismiss Uthmeier's lawsuit. The law seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts on platforms that meet certain criteria — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 could not open accounts. "The statute categorically bars individuals under age 14 from creating accounts on the websites it covers and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds, infringing on protected speech of minors," wrote Snap's attorneys, who include former state Solicitor General Christopher Kise. "As numerous courts have concluded, requiring minors to obtain parental consent before accessing 'social media' abridges First Amendment rights." Uthmeier filed the lawsuit April 21 in state court in Santa Rosa County, with the case moved last week to federal court. The law was one of the highest-profile issues of the 2024 legislative session, with supporters saying it targets addictive features of social-media platforms — a key argument in Uthmeier's lawsuit against Snap. "Despite being subject to HB 3, Snap contracts with and provides accounts to Florida users who it knows are younger than 14," the lawsuit said. "It also fails to seek parental consent before contracting with and providing accounts to Florida users who it knows are 14 or 15 years old. Snap is openly and knowingly violating HB 3, and each violation constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice under FDUTPA (a state law known as the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act)." The law did not name platforms that would be affected but included a definition of such platforms, with criteria related to such things as algorithms, addictive features and allowing users to view the content or activities of other users. Uthmeier's lawsuit alleged that Snapchat meets criteria, such as having addictive features, that make it subject to the age restrictions. For example, the lawsuit said Snapchat uses "push notifications" that appear on users' phone screens when they are not using the platform. "Push notifications exploit users' natural tendency to seek and attend to environmental feedback, serving as distractors that monopolize attention," the lawsuit said. "Young users are especially sensitive to these triggers and less able to control their response and resist reopening the app. Snapchat sends push notifications to users, regardless of age, frequently and at all hours of the day and night." But in the filing Wednesday, Snap's attorneys raised a series of arguments, including that the law violates the First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause and is preempted by a federal law known as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. In addition to arguing that the law infringes on speech rights of minors, Snap's attorneys contended that its age-verification requirements violate the rights of adults. "The statute also burdens the rights of adults to access covered services," the filing said. "Because it requires age-verification, it effectively requires everyone, including adults, to verify their ages before accessing those services — or, more precisely, to surrender sensitive personal information prior to accessing protected speech. As courts have repeatedly reaffirmed, requiring adults to verify their age before accessing speech significantly burdens First Amendment rights." In the lawsuit filed last year by the industry groups, Walker on March 13 turned down an initial request for a preliminary injunction, saying the groups had not shown they had legal standing to challenge the law. But the groups on March 28 filed a revised lawsuit and a renewed motion for a preliminary injunction. That motion remained pending as of Friday morning.
CNBC
22-05-2025
- General
- CNBC
Millennial founder's best career advice for Gen Z: 'You don't get what you don't ask for'
Amanda Litman was just 26 when she co-founded Run For Something, a political organization that recruits and supports young, diverse candidates running for down-ballot office, in 2017. As Run for Something grew, Litman found that in order to become the kind of leader she wanted to be — compassionate, transparent, effective and accountable — she would have to look outside traditional models of leadership. Millennials and Gen Z are more diverse than previous generations, "so our leadership quite literally looks different," she says. "The models that worked for the old white men of the last three centuries don't necessarily make sense for us." In the eight years she's served as president of Run for Something, Litman, 35, has watched fellow millennial and Gen Z leaders make fundamental changes to workplace culture as they rise to top positions. Litman drew on her own experiences, as well as interviews with other millennial and Gen Z leaders like Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel, comedian and producer Ilana Glazer, and activist David Hogg, for her new book "When We're In Charge: The Next Generation's Guide to Leadership." Here's her advice for the latest crop of leaders. According to Litman, the best professional advice she's ever received is "You don't get what you don't ask for." This advice rings true no matter where you are on the career ladder, she says. For leaders, clarity is crucial when setting expectations for employees. "You have a responsibility to make it clear what you are expecting, what you need, what you want out of people, and you want to make it as easy as possible for them to satisfy your demands," she says. On the other end, Litman encourages early-career professionals to put themselves out there: "If you want help from someone, if you want time on someone's calendar, if you want to have coffee with that person you've never had a chance to interact with, you need to ask for it." "The worst thing that happens is someone says no," she says. "The best thing that happens is they say yes, and you don't know what doors might open for you." Litman is heartened to see emerging leaders taking charge and making changes in the workplace. One crucial difference she notices between today's leaders and previous generations is that the younger generation of leaders is particularly focused on creating a healthy, supportive work culture. The Gen Z leaders Litman spoke to "really thought about the well-being of their teams," she says. "They thought about how to bring a sort of joy to the work in a way that I found really refreshing." Though Gen Z is often stereotyped in the workforce as lazy, unreliable, or difficult, Litman pushes back against those perceptions. "I think Gen Z wants a better balance between work and life, because they have seen how work can let you down," she says. "The career ladders that we thought we could climb no longer exist. The institutions that you thought you'd be able to work for are going through rolling layoffs. So why make your whole life about your job?" She advises Gen Z leaders to "take what works and leave what doesn't" when developing their leadership philosophies. "Don't assume that the way things were done yesterday has to be the way they're done tomorrow. You should know how things were done yesterday, but that doesn't dictate the future. You actually have a lot of agency over what could happen," she says. ,
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Mass service issues reported on Snapchat: DownDetector
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Thousands of Snapchat users reported issues with the social media app on DownDetector Thursday morning. By 7:30 a.m. more than 5,000 reported issues on DownDetector, more than half of which said they were having issues accessing the app. More Local News About 20% of people reported issues with uploading photos and another 17% said they couldn't connect to the server. Some social media users could be seen trying to contact Snapchat support on the platform X, however, most were directed to contact the company by DM to resolve the issue. PIX11 reached out to Snap Inc. for comment but did not hear back at the time of publishing. This is a developing story. Please refresh the page for updates. Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
