Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP) shares searched for the starts Wednesday after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
Snapchat reported daily active users up 18% year-over-year. Average revenue per user was up 46% year-over-year.
Revenue, released Tuesday, came in at $285.7 million, compared to $165.7 million in the prior-year quarter. Net loss registered at $350 million, compared to $170 million in the prior-year quarter. EBITDA was negative $158.9 million, compared to negative $152.3 million in the prior-year quarter.
Cash and marketable securities were $2.0 billion at December 31, 2017. Cash management reduced Q4 2017 cash burn to $255 million, down 49% sequentially. Capital expenditures remained modest in Q4 2017, given our capital light business model, at $21.2 million compared to $20.4 million in Q4 2016 and $25.9 million in Q3 2017. Full year capital expenditures were $84.5 million, less than $0.50 per DAU.
Snap has long trailed rival social media company Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) in daily active users, and is still far from profitability.
"They are finally catching up," Summit Insights Group analyst Jonathan Kees told the media. "But it was only one quarter, one quarter a trend does not make."
Snap went public in March at an initial public offering price of $17 and has struggled to regain that market cap in the months since.
Snap shares ballooned $6.38, or 45.3%, to $20.44, with Wednesday’s closing bell fast approaching.
