Following its Q1 report, Snap (Nasdaq: SNAP) was about 10% lower in after-hours trading. Snap topped expectations for earnings, revenue, and user growth, however, shares sold off on weaker than expected Q1 guidance.
However, this weakness was bought as the stock was only 4% lower by Friday's open. And, this buying continued all days as Snap gained 9% to close at a new, all-time high.
Inside the Numbers
In Q1, Snap topped earnings expectations with $0.09 per share vs expectations of $0.07. Revenue came in at $911 million which beat analysts' consensus of $857.4 million.
Global daily active users were 265 million which was higher than expectations of 257.8 million. This was a 6% increase from last quarter and a 22% increase from last year. Another important metric - average revenue per user - also beat at $3.44 vs $3.34 expected.
Overall in 2020, Snap lost $113 million which was an improvement from 2019's $241 million loss. The company fell short of expectations for the next quarter as it forecast an expected adjusted EBITDA loss of $50 million to $70 million, while analysts were looking for a $19.3 million profit.
It expects revenue growth of 56% to 60% for the first quarter and user growth to reach 275 million daily active users. Both are in-line with expectations. The company also warned that many companies paused advertising following the January 6 events at the United States' Capitol, and it could be negatively impacted by Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) privacy changes which could affect ad targeting and delivery. Ultimately, Snap doesn't see this as meaningfully affecting its results as it's attempting to pivot to let advertisers directly offer products to users in the long-term.
Stock Price Outlook
One clear lesson of the stock market is that furious buying following bad news is a good sign. This can be witnessed at various instances. Most recently, the stock market kept rallying despite the worsening economic and health situation through 2020 as it was reacting to increasing stimulus and an improving longer-term picture.
Similarly, Snap's Q1 earnings may be negatively impacted by Apple's changes and brands pulling back advertising in January. However, that doesn't change Snap's growth trajectory nor its leading position in augmented reality and virtual reality.
Snap is one of the leading companies in this industry and offers investors the most exposure to these themes. It's also been the first in helping companies use this technology as platforms to increase engagement and promote their products and services. Given that VR and AR will only gain more importance, it's understandable why investors chose to bid up Snap on temporary weakness.