Reddit shares dropped more than 6% Thursday after the social media company fell short of Wall Street’s user estimates in the fourth quarter.

The company reported a 39% rise in global daily active uniques from a year ago to 101.7 million, below the Wall Street estimate of 103.1 million.

In a letter to shareholders, CEO Steve Huffman said that Reddit experienced some “volatility” in user growth as a result of a Google search algorithm change. He noted that the tweak occurs twice a year and primarily impacts logged-out users who visit the site without an account, but search-related traffic has since recovered into the first quarter.

“What happened wasn’t unusual — referrals from search fluctuate from time to time, and they primarily affect logged-out users,” Huffman wrote. “Our teams have navigated numerous algorithm updates and did an excellent job adapting to these latest changes effectively.”

Despite the disappointing user figure, Reddit surpassed Wall Street’s top-and-bottom line estimates for the period, with earnings of 36 cents per share on $428 billion in sales. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast earnings of 25 cents per share and $405 billion in revenue. Sales also grew 71% from a year ago.

Reddit also offered better-than-expected revenue guidance for the first quarter, while net income roughly quadrupled to $71 million, or 36 cents per share.

Many Wall Street analysts stood by the stock despite the Google issue, with Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak recommending that investors buy the dip. Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski maintained his overweight rating, but said a full bounce back in the stock may depend on steady consecutive U.S. user growth.

“We like Reddit’s growth but see balanced risk reward,” wrote Bank of America’s Justin Post. He cited a high valuation, dependence on Google and a potential revenue deceleration later this year among the reasons for his neutral rating.

Reddit’s stock has climbed since its initial public offering in March 2024 at $34 a share. Shares are up 24% year to date.

— CNBC’s Jonathan Vanian contributed reporting

Tesla robotics development rival Apptronik announced a $350 million Series A funding round Thursday morning to scale the production of artificial intelligence-powered humanoid robots.

The funding round was co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, and included backing from Google, CEO Jeff Cardenas said in an exclusive Squawk Box interview Thursday.

Apptronik, a Texas-based robotics developer founded in 2016, previously raised $28 million and is currently working on deploying what the company calls a “groundbreaking” humanoid robot designed for industrial work named Apollo.

“What’s happening in robotics is robots, with the power of AI, are becoming much more versatile,” Cardenas said. “Now we’re getting these robots out into the world in a pretty big way and scaling them up and going from industry and into the home in the future.”

The new funding will allow the company to scale its robot development to potentially address applications like manufacturing and healthcare. The robots will be trained separately from humans on repetitive tasks, Cardenas said, before they begin integrating into human life.

Apptronik has partnered with NASA and NVIDIA as it works on iterations of robots that rival those of Elon Musk’s Tesla. The company has developed 15 robotic systems, including NASA’s humanoid robot Valkyrie.

“The target price is for these robots to be less than the price of a car, so we’ve been working over the years, we’re on our ninth iteration of human robot,” Cardenas said. “These robots are going to get much more affordable over time.”

The company is also working with Google DeepMind to work on developing the AI driving the robotics technology.

Tesla has also moved into the fast-evolving humanoid robotics industry with the Tesla Optimus robot. According to Goldman Sachs, the global market for humanoid robots could reach $38 billion by 2035.

“I think we’re right there in the race,” Cardenas said. “I think what this round represents is that our investors are really backing us and think that we have a real shot at winning this race.”

Preventative health startup Prenuvo on Thursday announced it will offer three new health assessments in addition to its flagship full-body MRI scan.

The company is launching a detailed blood test, neurological scan and body composition analysis that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in recent weeks. Prenuvo said it wants to give customers an accurate picture of their health, and that its patients have been asking for more. 

“They have come to the understanding and realization that the health system is not serving their needs as it relates to keeping them healthy,” Prenuvo CEO Andrew Lacy told CNBC in an interview. “Consumers are increasingly looking for alternate solutions so they can stay on top of their health.”

Prenuvo exploded in popularity because of its $2,500 full-body MRI scan that has been lauded by celebrities like Kim Kardashian. The company can check for hundreds of conditions like cancer, multiple sclerosis and aneurysms once its custom, FDA-approved MRI machines scan a person’s body in an hour.

The full-body scan and the new blood test, neurological scan and body composition report will be packaged together and offered to customers for $3,999, Lacy said.  

Prenuvo has surpassed 110,000 members, and the company generated $100 million in revenue last year. It owns and operates 17 clinics across North America and plans to expand to 15 more locations in the coming months, including sites in Europe and Australia, Lacy said. 

Lacy said Prenuvo has grown quickly but is profitable.

Prenuvo has faced criticism for its steep prices, and some medical experts have warned that the scans aren’t meant to replace targeted screenings and could cause patients to seek out unnecessary care.   

Investors are bullish anyway. 

The company announced Thursday that it closed a $120 million funding round, co-led by Left Lane Capital, Forerunner Ventures and its existing investor, Felicis. Prenuvo will use its fresh financing to support its product expansion, its push into new regions and explore applications for artificial intelligence.

A competing full-body MRI startup Ezra announced a $21 million funding round last February.

Prenuvo has the largest repository of whole-body MRI imaging in the world, Lacy said, which means there are lots of opportunities for the company to build models that make its exams more accurate and its 80 board-certified radiologists more efficient.

The company’s new body composition analysis, which is called the Prenuvo Body Composition report, uses AI to assess the volume and symmetry of muscles and the distribution of fat in the abdomen. Lacy said muscle size and distribution is a leading indicator of mobility, and fat distribution can affect risk of metabolic disease and cardiovascular disease. 

“This is really, really important information for patients who are looking to proactively manage their health,” Lacy said.

Patients will not need to undergo any additional imaging for the Prenuvo Body Composition report.

Prenuvo’s new brain health scan is also imaging based, and it gives patients a glimpse into their cognitive health and function, the company said. The scan uses neurological sequences that Prenuvo developed in-house to assess blood flow, the brain’s microvascular structure and identify any repetitive trauma from activity like sports. 

It requires an additional 10 minutes of imaging, and the sequences are already FDA approved, Lacy said.  

The blood assessment is new territory for the company, and it will check patients’ biomarkers to provide insights into hormonal, cardiovascular, metabolic and immune health. Lacy said the test could help detect leukemia, a blood cancer that can’t be identified with imaging, for instance. 

“Blood and imaging together is just incredibly powerful,” Lacy said. “It’s not a case of one plus one equals two, it’s one plus one equals five.”

Initially, a phlebotomist, a person who is trained to draw blood, will come to patients’ homes to collect the blood sample, Prenuvo said. The company also plans to draw blood inside its facilities eventually, but Lacy wants to provide a premium experience that is as calming and comfortable as possible.

Patients can access the new assessments at Prenuvo’s Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and New York locations starting Thursday. Additional locations will offer the tests this spring, the company said. 

“No one is going to care about your health more than you do,” Lacy said. “When you diagnose things early, it’s empowering. You can do something about it.”

Watch: John Hancock CEO talks collaboration with Prenuvo and focus on longevity