*By Michael Teich*
Snap couldn't convince enough new users to join its troubled platform in the first quarter of 2018, and there will be no recovery for the company's stock as long as the current management team remains in control, said Michael Pachter, an analyst from Wedbush Securities.
Shares of the social software company plummeted Wednesday, a day after it delivered quarterly results that seriously disappointed Wall Street. The social media company added just 4 million daily active users from the previous quarter, falling short of the 7 million estimate. The stock responded quickly, and closed down almost 22 percent on Wednesday.
Pachter said competition, an unattractive platform redesign, and Snap's inability to appeal to older users were among the top reasons for its sluggish growth. “Anything Snap comes up with, Facebook will copy and they'll be more effective at it,” he said.
Despite the negative sentiment on Wall Street, Snap still claims 191 million daily active users. Snap's CEO Evan Spiegel acknowledged in an earnings call that the redesign was a drag on revenue and caused "apprehension" among advertising partners, but he emphasized users are still spending over 30 minutes per day on the app.
Pachter, who gives the stock a "neutral" rating and a $10 target for 12 months, said he is resisting giving Snap a "sell" rating because, at some point, "somebody will buy" the company.
Europeans upset with Elon Musk still aren’t buying his electric cars, adding to a long losing streak for his company.
Japanese officials have released AI-generated videos simulating a potential eruption of Mount Fuji.
Police have arrested seven people after they occupied an office at Microsoft's headquarters in Washington state.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
A group of book authors has reached a settlement with AI company Anthropic after suing for copyright infringement. A federal appeals court filing Tuesday said both sides have negotiated a proposed class settlement, with terms to be finalized next week. Anthropic declined to comment. A lawyer for the authors called it a "historic settlement." In June, a federal judge ruled that Anthropic didn't break the law by training its chatbot on copyrighted books. However, the company was still facing trial over acquiring those books from online "shadow libraries" of pirated copies.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the company is discussing a potential new computer chip designed for China with the Trump administration.
The death of a French streamer during a 298-hour broadcast has sparked controversy and a judicial investigation.
Elon Musk’s X has reached a tentative settlement with former employees of the company then known as Twitter who’d sued for $500 million in severance pay.
Humanoid robots have showcased their talents at the opening ceremony of the first World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.
