Snap Inc., has just reported its second quarter results for the year, and it is a bit of a mixed bag. Snap posted a loss, though it is a smaller loss than was expected. It’s a $0.14 EPS loss, versus the $0.17 EPS loss that was expected. However, it did beat on revenue, coming in at $262 million for the quarter, though analysts were expecting around $250 million. However, Snap did fall short on its user numbers. It posted 188 million daily active users, which is up eight-percent year-over-year, but analysts were expecting 192 million daily active users. That is keeping the stock from really taking off in after hours trading. This is the same thing that happened with Facebook a few weeks ago. Beating on the financials, but missing on users. And that stock took a huge hit – the biggest single-day hit, the following day.
Now for the numbers. Snap reported that cash used in operating activities was a loss of $199 million, compared to that of a loss of $210 million the same period a year ago. Free Cash Flow was also a loss of $234, which is up from the loss of $299 in the same period a year ago. Revenue did increase about 44-percent from the same period a year ago. And the net loss decreased 20-percent, coming in at a $353 million loss, compared to the $443 million loss a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA loss went down 13-percent as well.
The number that many social media platforms live and die by is their active users numbers. And Snap’s Daily Active Users or DAUs, increased quite a bit in the quarter. Jumping to 188 million, or a eight-percent increase from the same period a year ago. It did, however, decrease about two-percent compared the previous quarter. Snap was also able to raise its average revenue per user or ARPU, by 34-percent. Bringing that to $1.40 in the quarter, versus $1.05 in the second quarter of last year. All told, it was a pretty decent quarter for Snap. The company is still losing money, but that is expected to continue for another few quarters or so – it’s common for newly public companies to lose money for the first couple of years.