Snapchat Daily Users Jump 20% in Q1, Sending Snap Stock Price Soaring

By Todd Spangler

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Snapchat gained 11 million new daily users during the first quarter of 2020 amid the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, while Snap beat Wall Street expectations for revenue in the period.

Snap said Snapchat’s average DAUs were 229 million in Q1 2020, an increase of 39 million or 20% year-over-year. Total daily time spent by Snapchat users watching Discover content increased by over 35% year-over-year in the quarter, according to the company — and on average, more than 4 billion snaps were sent each day in Q1.

In after-hours trading, Snap’s stock shot up more than 20% on the results.

The company said while it saw higher engagement in the final weeks of the quarter, that didn’t have much impact on Q1 DAU results as that metric is calculated using a daily average over the course of the full quarter.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our community and partners during this difficult time,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in announcing the results. “Snapchat is helping people stay close to their friends and family while they are separated physically, and I am proud of our team for overcoming the many challenges of working from home during this time while we continue to grow our business and support those who are impacted by COVID-19.”

Snap reported Q1 revenue of to $462.5 million in Q1 2020, up 44% year-over-year, topped Wall Street consensus estimates of $431.4 million. Net loss improved slightly to $306 million, or 21 cents per share, roughly in line with analyst expectations.