Snap shares fall to new low as loss widens

Snap, the parent company of social media platform Snapchat, saw its shares slide to an all-time low in after-hours trading following its announcement of large quarterly financial loss and sinking user numbers. 

For the third quarter, the company reported a loss of $325.1 million, or 25 cents a share. Wall Street analysts had forecast a loss of 14 cents per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Snap reported revenue of $297.7 million in the period, surpassing analyst forecasts. Ten analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $283.5 million.

Globally, daily active users fell by 2 million from the prior quarter to 186 million. It’s the second consecutive quarter in which the social media company has posted a drop in users. 

Snap shares fell more than 10 percent after trading closed, to $6.26. 

Snap has continued losing money since its initial public offering, but CEO Evan Spiegel recently outlined a plan, leaked earlier this month, to be profitable by 2019. In a lengthy memo, Spiegel acknowledged that the company “rushed” its redesign and set a goal of breaking even in the fourth quarter of this year and turning a profit in 2019. 

For the current quarter ending in December, Snap said it expects revenue in the range of $355 million to $380 million.

Snap shares have fallen more than 50 percent since the beginning of the year.