*By Chloe Aiello*
Shares of embattled social media company Snap soared more than 16 percent in extended trading on Tuesday, after the company beat Wall Street's expectations for its fourth-quarter financial results and reported users stayed relatively stable from a year ago.
Wedbush's Dan Ives said the results showed signs of progress.
"With a lot of these turnaround stories, it's not just one quarter ー you need a few quarters to really see these turnarounds take place, but no doubt it looks like a step in the right direction," Ives said.
Snap ($SNAP), which is best known for its application Snapchat, reported a loss of $0.04 per share on revenue of $390 million, beating Wall Street’s estimates of a $0.07 loss per share on $377.52 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.
“We are substantially closer to achieving profitability, as we have maintained a relatively flat cost structure across the past five quarters while growing full-year revenue 43 percent year-over-year,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in a statement.
In the ever-important category of daily active users, which measures audience engagement, Snap reported 186 million ー the same number as in the third quarter, and only slightly less than the 187 million it reported this time last year. Average revenue per user came in at $2.09 vs. $1.53 last year.
Snap also said 30 percent more users are using its Stories and Shows features daily.
Bruised by competition from Facebook’s ($FB) Instagram, and a virtual rotating door of executives, Snap’s stock is down close to 50 percent from last year.
A flow of recent data from the U.S. government has made one thing strikingly clear: A surge in consumer spending is fueling strong growth, demonstrating a resilience that has confounded economists, Federal Reserve officials and even the sour sentiments that Americans themselves have expressed in opinion polls.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning parents and caregivers not to buy or serve certain pureed fruit pouches marketed to toddlers and young children because the food might contain dangerous levels of lead.
Some pumpkin farmers in the West, particularly wholesalers in places like Colorado and New Mexico, are feeling the pinching effects of drought.
General Motors and the United Auto Workers union have reached a tentative contract agreement that could end a six-week-old strike against Detroit automakers, three people briefed on the deal said.
Apple's 8pm ET event Monday will revolve around its iMAC computer lineup of products which are expected to contain its new faster and three next-generation silicon chip.
McDonald's reported better-than-expected profit and sales in the third quarter.
Major stock indexes are slated to close lower this month as investors brace for the Federal Reserve's rate decision and ahead of new jobs data.
The Food and Drug Administration issued an alert and specifically mentioned 26 eye drop products from a number of brands.
Workers at a number of pharmacy chains nationwide were planning a walkout Monday and going through Wednesday.
President Joe Biden on Monday will sign a sweeping executive order to guide the development of artificial intelligence — requiring industry to develop safety and security standards, introducing new consumer protections and giving federal agencies an extensive to-do list to oversee the rapidly progressing technology.
