Snap's boss destroys $43 bln in a snap – Reuters

NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Snap’s (SNAP.N) value is disappearing almost as quickly as its messages. The $16 billion social media company said on Tuesday that revenue declined in the second quarter, wiping almost a fifth off its market capitalization. Since its initial public offering in 2017, shares have declined 13% on average, annually. It might be time to rethink Snap’s future. Too bad for shareholders, boss Evan Spiegel has almost complete control.Snap is still struggling to pry money from advertisers, a worrisome trend for a relatively young company. Revenue for the second quarter fell 4% year-over-year to $1 billion and the outlook for third quarter is not much of an improvement. The top line is expected to be flat at best and decline 5% at worst, the company said.It wasn’t always this way – and it doesn’t have to continue. Snap had for a while managed to far outpace Meta Platforms’(META.O) revenue growth, having quadrupled its top line since the end of 2018 through 2022, while sales at Mark Zuckerberg’s $755 billion giant, which reports earnings Wednesday night, have about doubled. The problem is that Spiegel hasn’t yet figured out a viable business model, and that’s become
Read More