Snapchat’s shares slump as chief exec warns against revenue and hiring slowdown
Snapchat has warned it would be slowing its hiring process, warning investors that revenue would slow in the coming months, hitting the low-end of estimates.
“Like many companies, we continue to face rising inflation and interest rates, supply chain shortages and labor disruptions, platform policy changes, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and more,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in a memo to employees and reported by The Verge.
Snap said it plans to hire 500 more people this year compared to the 2,000 people it hired over the past 12 months.
The Snapchat parent firm also said in a regulatory filing that since it released earnings guidance last month, “the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated further and faster than anticipated”.
The Snap stock lost a nearly a third of its value yesterday, trading to less than $16 in after-hours.
The Los Angeles-based company has been focusing on developing its augmented reality and virtual shopping offering.
In an interview with City PM, UK Snap boss Ed Couchman explained: “Our view is to make the real world better rather than entering a new one”.
Since January last year, more than 250m Snapchatters have engaged with its AR shopping ‘Lenses’ feature, which essentially allows users to ‘scan’ the world around them to shop and play. The offering varies from scanning a dog to find out what breed it is, to scanning a product you want to buy on Amazon.