Snap shares jumped in extended trading Tuesday after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
Here is how the company did compared with Wall Street’s expectations:
Earnings per share: 16 cents adjusted vs. 14 cents expected, according to LSEG
Revenue: $1.56 billion vs. $1.55 billion expected, according to LSEG
Global daily active users: 453 million vs. 451.1 million expected, according to StreetAccount
Global average revenue per user: $3.44 vs. $3.44 expected, according to StreetAccount
Revenue for the fourth quarter increased 14% from $1.36 billion a year earlier. Net income in the quarter was $9.1 million, or a penny a share. In the prior year, Snap recorded a fourth-quarter net loss of $248 million, or 15 cents a share.
Snap said it expects first-quarter revenue to come in between $1.325 billion and $1.36 billion. The midpoint of that range is $1.34 billion, higher than Wall Street projections of $1.33 billion.
However, Snap’s first-quarter adjusted earnings will fall in the range of $40 million to $75 million, below analyst expectations of $78.5 million. In an investor letter, Snap attributed the guidance to “investment plans for the quarter ahead.”
First-quarter adjusted operating expenses will grow in the range of 11% to 12% year over year due to hiring, legal-related costs, and “a seasonal shift of marketing expenses into Q1 relative to the prior year,” Snap said.
“As we look ahead to 2025, we see additional opportunities to invest productively in scaling our business given the foundational improvements we have made to our ad platform and the momentum we have established in our go to market initiatives,” particularly in the segment focused on small and medium-sized businesses, Snap said in the letter. “Our investment plans for 2025 reflect this optimism, alongside a strong commitment to make further financial progress towards profitability as we scale.”
Additionally, the company said it committed $5 million to “support communities and team members” affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires and that it anticipates making “further commitments over time.”
In September, the New Mexico attorney general filed a lawsuit against Snap that alleged the company’s Snapchat app’s design and recommendation systems “openly foster and promote illicit sexual material involving children and facilitate sextortion and the trafficking of children, drugs, and guns.” Earlier in January, Snap shares dropped after the Federal Trade Commission said it would refer a complaint against the company related to its My AI chatbot to the Department of Justice.
Last week, Meta reported fourth-quarter results that beat on revenue and earnings and reiterated its plans to spend heavily on AI-related investments. Alphabet on Tuesday beat on earnings but missed on revenue. Pinterest reports earnings Thursday followed by Reddit next week.
Snap said daily active users for the first quarter will be 459 million, topping analyst expectations of 458.3 million.
The company said its Snapchat+ service now has 14 million subscribers, up from the 12 million it reported during the third quarter. The service, which debuted in 2022, makes up the bulk of what Snap calls “other revenue.” That unit grew 131% year over year in 2024 and has an “annualized revenue run rate of well over $500 million,” the company said.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in a Tuesday call with analysts that he’s pleased with the user response to Snapchat+ and the company may consider raising its subscription price, which currently costs $3.99 a month.
Spiegel also commented about China-based DeepSeek’s breakthrough AI model that was allegedly cheaper and quicker to build and operate compared to other similar software from tech giants like Meta, Alphabet and OpenAI. DeepSeek’s AI model shows that “Capital is not a long-term moat in the technology business,” Spiegel said.
“It’s been really inspiring to see the innovation there,” Spiegel said. “I think it validates our view that a lot of these models are going to continue to be commoditized over time, more efficient to run.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts last week that his company was still digesting some of DeepSeek’s capabilities, but added that it’s “probably too early to really have a strong opinion on what this means for the trajectory around infrastructure and CapEx,” suggesting that Meta won’t slash its AI spending anytime soon.
Regarding whether Snap has seen any impact from TikTok’s potential ban in the U.S., Spiegel said “The overall environment of uncertainty is benefiting our business.” He said that both advertisers and creators are looking to “diversify” the social platforms they rely on, and Snap is helping them with their planning.
Snap said Ajit Mohan will become chief business officer after previously serving as president of the Asia-Pacific region. Before joining Snap in 2023, Mohan was the vice president and managing director of India at Meta.
A United States Postal Service worker pushes a cart of packages in New York City, on Dec. 4, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it’s temporarily suspending all inbound packages from China and Hong Kong Posts.
The change is effective immediately and will remain “until further notice,” according to an alert posted to the agency’s website. Letters and large envelopes, referred to as “flats,” sent from China and Hong Kong won’t be impacted, the USPS said.
The announcement comes after President Donald Trump on Saturday signed executive orders imposing tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada. Trump on Monday agreed to hold off on imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days, but the 10% tax on goods from China remains.
A provision in the orders eliminates a popular trade loophole, known as “de minimis,” which allows exporters to ship packages worth less than $800 into the U.S. duty free.
Chinese e-commerce firms, including Shein and PDD Holdings‘ Temu, have relied on the de minimis loophole as a way to bypass tariffs, and keep prices low.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc., during Stanford’s 2024 Business, Government, and Society forum in Stanford, California, April 3, 2024.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Google has removed a pledge to abstain from using AI for potentially harmful applications, such as weapons and surveillance, according to the company’s updated “AI Principles.”
A prior version of the company’s AI principles said the company would not pursue “weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people,” and “technologies that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms.”
Those objectives are no longer displayed on its AI Principles website.
“There’s a global competition taking place for AI leadership within an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape,” reads a Tuesday blog post co-written by Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind. “We believe democracies should lead in AI development, guided by core values like freedom, equality, and respect for human rights.”
The company’s updated principles reflect Google’s growing ambitions to offer its AI technology and services to more users and clients, which has included governments. The change is also in line with increasing rhetoric out of Silicon Valley leaders about a winner-take-all AI race between the U.S. and China, with Palantir’s CTO Shyam Sankar saying Monday that “it’s going to be a whole-of-nation effort that extends well beyond the DoD in order for us as a nation to win.”
The previous version of the company’s AI principles said Google would “take into account a broad range of social and economic factors.” The new AI principles state Google will “proceed where we believe that the overall likely benefits substantially exceed the foreseeable risks and downsides.”
In its Tuesday blog post, Google said it will “stay consistent with widely accepted principles of international law and human rights — always evaluating specific work by carefully assessing whether the benefits substantially outweigh potential risks.”
The new AI principles were first reported by The Washington Post on Tuesday, ahead of Google’s fourth-quarter earnings. The company’s results missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations and drove shares down as much as 9% in after-hours trading.
Hundreds of protestors including Google workers are gathered in front of Google’s San Francisco offices and shut down traffic at One Market Street block on Thursday evening, demanding an end to its work with the Israeli government, and to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza, in San Francisco, California, United States on December 14, 2023.
Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images
Google established its AI principles in 2018 after declining to renew a government contract called Project Maven, which helped the government analyze and interpret drone videos using artificial intelligence. Prior to ending the deal, several thousand employees signed a petition against the contract and dozens resigned in opposition to Google’s involvement. The company also dropped out of the bidding for a $10 billion Pentagon cloud contract in part because the company “couldn’t be sure” it would align with the company’s AI principles, it said at the time.
Touting its AI technology to clients, Pichai’s leadership team has aggressively pursued federal government contracts, which has caused heightened strain in some areas within Google’s outspoken workforce.
“We believe that companies, governments, and organizations sharing these values should work together to create AI that protects people, promotes global growth, and supports national security,” Google’s Tuesday blog post said.
Google last year terminated more than 50 employees after a series of protests against Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion joint contract with Amazon that provides the Israeli government and military with cloud computing and AI services. Executives repeatedly said the contract didn’t violate any of the company’s “AI principles.”
However, documents and reports showed the company’s agreement allowed for giving Israel AI tools that included image categorization, object tracking, as well as provisions for state-owned weapons manufacturers. The New York Times in December reported that four months prior to signing on to Nimbus, Google officials expressed concern that signing the deal would harm its reputation and that “Google Cloud services could be used for, or linked to, the facilitation of human rights violations.”
Meanwhile, the company had been cracking down on internal discussions around geopolitical conflicts like the war in Gaza.
Google announced updated guidelines for its Memegen internal forum in September that further restricted political discussions about geopolitical content, international relations, military conflicts, economic actions and territorial disputes, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC at the time.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FILE PHOTO: Spencer Rascoff, co-founder and executive chairman of dot.LA, speaks during the Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica, California, U.S., on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
Rascoff, who has served as a member of the online dating company’s board since March 2024, will replace Bernard Kim in the role, Match said.
“During his time on the Board, Spencer has demonstrated a strong strategic perspective and deep understanding of Match Group’s brands and opportunities,” said Match Group Chairman Tom McInerney, in a statement. “We are confident in his ability to drive the company’s next phase of innovation and growth.”
Along with the leadership change, Match announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter results but lackluster guidance. Match posted earnings per share of 59 cents on $860 million in revenue. That topped the 54 cents per share in earnings and $859 million in revenue expected by analysts polled by LSEG.
However, the parent of Tinder and Hinge issued disappointing revenue guidance for the first quarter. The company forecast sales of $820 million to $830 million for the quarter, falling short of the $853 million estimate from LSEG.
The shares sank 7% in extended trading after the report.
Rascoff, 49, is best known for his role at Zillow. He co-founded the real estate technology company nearly two decades ago and served in various roles, including CEO, before departing in 2019. The Harvard University graduate also founded online travel website Hotwire, which Expedia bought for nearly $700 million in 2003.
Match was fully spun out of Barry Diller’sIAC Group in 2020, but has had a tough run as an independent public company. Its market cap was about $30 billion at the time of the transaction and has since shrunk below $10 billion, reflecting a dramatic slowdown in revenue growth.
Last month, IAC said its board approved the spinoff of Angi, the home improvement market place the company acquired in 2017.