What happened
Shares of Snap (NYSE: SNAP) jumped 9% on Friday following the release of the social media company's solid fourth-quarter results.
So what
The parent company of Snapchat saw its daily active users climb 22% to 265 million. Snap's revenue, in turn, leaped 62% to $911 million. That was well ahead of the $857.4 million in revenue Wall Street had expected.
"Our team has worked tirelessly to help people stay close with their friends and family even while they are physically apart, and we're proud of the strong results we delivered for our advertising partners this quarter and over the full year," CEO Evan Spiegel said in a press release.
Investors applauded Snap's strong Q4 growth metrics. Image source: Getty Images.
Snap reported a net loss of $113 million in the fourth quarter. However, the company generated its first full year of positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). This measure of profitability improved to $45 million in 2020 from a loss of $202 million in the prior-year period.
Now what
Management expects Snap's revenue to rise roughly 58% year over year to $730 million in the first quarter. However, Snap warned that Apple's upcoming privacy changes on its mobile devices could undermine its advertising business.
Still, Spiegel said Apple's move to protect the privacy of its customers was the right thing to do. "We generally view this as a good thing overall for consumers, even if it's a little disruptive for advertisers in the near term," Spiegel told CNBC.
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