BTIG's Rich Greenfield on Snap: "I Wouldn't Touch the Stock"
Shares of Snap fell for a second straight day Thursday, as investors continued to digest the company's latest earnings report. BTIG Analyst Rich Greenfield says he's not impressed by the company's planned redesign or the 12% stake just disclosed by China's Tencent.
"It's pretty shocking how fast this thing has unraveled," he told Cheddar in an interview.
The messaging app, which considers itself "a camera company," reported revenue of just $207 million during the third quarter, well below analyst estimates of $237 million. User growth also came in less than expected, with daily active users rising by just 5 million.
CEO Evan Spiegel also announced the company would be heavily redesigning its app to make it easier to use. Business Insdier reports that the changes include separating friend-based posts from content provided by the company's publishing partners and adding more posts from verified celebrity influencers. Snap says the overhaul will result in some short-term disruptions but hopes it will pay off in the long run.
Greenfield, though, isn't impressed.
"They're doing a huge pivot," he says. "If it works there's obviously huge potential, but there's also huge risk when you're making this big of a pivot."
The analyst last month slashed his projections for Snap's growth, saying he now expects 2018 revenue of just about $1.6 billion compared to earlier forecasts for $2.5 billion. In a research note he apologized for his earlier optimism with the hashtag #wearesorry.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
