Snap released its financial results for the first quarter of 2022 today, confirming that it’s growing faster than its U.S.-based rivals Facebook (now Meta) and Twitter. Meta reported its first loss of daily active users (DAUs) last quarter, while Twitter monetizable DAUs grew 2% in the US and 15% internationally.
Snap, Snapchat’s parent company, grew its DAUs 18% year over year to 332 million, but over the previous five quarters, user growth was over 20%. But Snap is more concerned about its revenue, though it’s up 38% year over year to $1.06 billion. The company said it’s on track to achieve 44% growth since the first quarter of 2021, but noted that after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, many advertisers paused their campaigns. Snap’s CFO Derek Andersen said most advertisers resumed their campaigns within 10 days, but the pause still negatively impacted the company’s quarterly revenue.
“We believe the impact of the war in Ukraine on input costs, marketing budgets and overall economic literacy has been significant and that it is difficult to predict its impact on a forward-looking basis,” Andersen said of Snap’s earnings call.
Snap also missed its revenue targets in the third quarter of 2021, citing Apple’s big iOS privacy change as the cause. After iOS users were offered the option to opt-out of off-app tracking, most users opted to stop sharing personal information with the apps they use, impacting Snapchat and Facebook’s advertising business. The company said it still counts on Apple’s curveball shape when it comes to advertising revenue.
When it comes to the product itself, Snap relies heavily on augmented reality experiences (like Niantic!). The company said 250 million Snapchatters engage with AR features every day, which accounts for a sizable portion of its 332 million total DAUs. This quarter, Snap rolled out upgrades to AR shopping, as well as community-created AR experiences for local attractions.
Snap is hosting its annual Snap Partner Summit next week, and according to CEO Evan Spiegel, the company plans to announce some new products and services at the event.