According to Fast Company, Snap just announced its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, November 5 with $1.51 billion in revenue that beat Wall Street’s $1.49 billion prediction. That represents a 10% year-over-year jump, with the company also exceeding expectations on global daily active users at 477 million versus the expected 476 million. Global average revenue per user hit $3.16 versus the predicted $3.13, with both figures showing year-over-year improvement. Snap also revealed a stock repurchase program for up to $500 million, adding to the positive momentum that’s sending shares soaring.
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Snap’s surprising turnaround
Remember when everyone was writing Snapchat’s obituary? Just a couple years ago, it seemed like the platform was destined to become another MySpace—losing users, missing revenue targets, and getting absolutely crushed by Instagram’s copycat features. But here we are in late 2024, and suddenly Snap’s looking like it might have some fight left after all.
Here’s the thing: beating expectations by relatively small margins—$20 million on revenue, 1 million users—might not sound earth-shattering. But in Snap’s case, it’s huge. This is a company that’s been playing defense for years, constantly trying to justify its existence against TikTok, Instagram, and whatever new social platform emerges next. Beating expectations, even narrowly, suggests they’re finally finding their footing.
What’s actually working?
So what’s driving this mini-revival? The Perplexity AI partnership is getting a lot of attention, which makes sense—everyone’s trying to figure out how to integrate AI without making their core product worse. But I think there’s something else happening here.
Snapchat’s user base has always been younger, and they’ve stuck with the platform through all its ups and downs. Now those users are getting older, potentially with more disposable income. And Snap’s been slowly building out its advertising and e-commerce capabilities in the background. The quarterly results show they’re finally starting to monetize that loyalty more effectively.
The $500 million stock buyback is interesting too. That’s a confident move—companies don’t repurchase their own shares unless they believe they’re undervalued. It signals that Snap’s leadership thinks the current stock price doesn’t reflect their future potential.
The road ahead
But let’s not get carried away. One good quarter doesn’t mean Snap’s suddenly going to challenge Meta for social media dominance. They’re still the underdog, and they’ll need to string together several quarters of growth like this to really change the narrative.
The bigger question is whether this is sustainable growth or just a temporary bump. Can they keep innovating fast enough to stay relevant? Will their AI partnerships actually translate into meaningful user benefits? And most importantly, can they convince advertisers that they’re a better bet than TikTok or Instagram?
For now though, Snap’s earned a moment to celebrate. They’ve proven they’re not dead yet—and in the brutal world of social media, that’s an accomplishment in itself.
