Snapchat shares rise 20% as coronavirus spurs use

Snap Inc beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue and user growth for its Snapchat app, as more people seek entertainment while they stay at home during the global coronavirus pandemic.

Snapchat, known for its disappearing messages, said it saw a jump in usage in the last week of March compared with the end of January, as people increasingly used the app to communicate with friends and family. Usage also increased for Snapchat’s original content and in-app games.

Daily active users (DAU) on Snapchat rose 20% to 229 million in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a year earlier. The figure stood at 218 million in the fourth quarter.

DAU, a widely watched metric by investors and advertisers, beat analysts’ average estimate of 224.68 million, according to Refinitiv data.

Revenue, which Snap earns mainly by selling advertising on the app, increased 44% from a year earlier to $462.47 million. The company said higher revenue in the first two months of the quarter offset lower growth in March, when advertisers began to tighten marketing budgets as non-essential stores closed amid the pandemic.

Read more via Reuters