Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) turned in another horrible quarter, and its stock dropped near a 52-week low, retreating 18% to $8.61. According to Reuters, the company “warned results in the next quarter could fall below Wall Street’s targets.” The poor performance is the handiwork of long-time CEO Evan Spiegel. (Customers are abandoning these 25 brands.)
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Snap said its active users rose to 383 million. It does not matter much because the company has failed to monetize this base. “We are working to accelerate our revenue growth and we are using this opportunity to make significant improvements to our advertising platform to help drive increased return on investment for our advertising partners,” he said. That “working” has not worked.
Revenue for the quarter dropped 3% to $989 million. Its net loss was $329 million. Snap launched several new products, none of which appears to have helped. Spiegel has been chief executive officer of Snap since 2012, which means he has had a decade to ruin the company.
Shareholders who want changes are out of luck. According to Snap’s 10-K, “Our two co-founders, Evan Spiegel and Robert Murphy, control over 99% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock as of December 31, 2022, and Mr. Spiegel alone can exercise voting control over a majority of our outstanding capital stock.” Spiegel can drive Snap completely into the ground and not be stopped.
Some shareholders may not be aware of Snap’s ownership structure. Their lack of due diligence could cost them money over time, as it has in the past. Over the past five years, Snap’s stock is down 26%, while the S&P 500 is up 71%.
Snap has no future as a public company. The sooner shareholders see that, the better off they will be.
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