Snapchat Android App Adds More Users Than Wall Street Expected

Snap on Thursday beat Wall Street estimates for user growth and revenue as the improved Android version of its popular messaging app Snapchat attracted more users, but growth slowed within North America.

Shares of Snap rose 3.5 percent in trading after the bell.

Daily active users (DAUs), a metric closely watched by investors and advertisers, rose 22 percent year-over-year to 280 million in the first quarter. Analysts had expected 275.3 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Most of the user growth continued to come from outside North America, rising 57 percent from the prior-year quarter.

Snap embarked on rebuilding its Android app, which struggled with technical bugs, back in 2018. Snapchat’s Android user base now exceeds those on Apple iOS for the first time, the company said.

As more people downloaded the new app outside the United States, where Android phones dominate over iPhone models, Snap added support for more languages and added more media content geared toward audiences in certain countries.

It launched an original show called “Phone Swap India” in March on the Discover section of Snapchat, which houses original content and shows from media partners.

Revenue, which Snap generates mainly from advertising, grew 66 percent to $770 million (roughly Rs. 5,780 crores) in the quarter ended March 31, beating Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $743 million roughly Rs. 5,580 crores).

Snap has increasingly invested in augmented reality technology, betting that it can help brands market products like clothes and makeup to tech-savvy young users.

In March, Snap acquired Fit Analytics, a tech company that helps customers virtually determine if clothing will fit.

“Augmented reality remains one of our biggest opportunities as we look to the future,” said Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel, in prepared remarks released before an earnings call with analysts.

Snap’s net loss narrowed to $286.9 million (roughly Rs. 2,150 crores), or 19 cents per share, from $305.9 million (roughly Rs. 2,300 crores), or 21 cents per share, a year earlier.