Snap’s business is showing signs of life

Snap’s business has been on life support for a while now, with Apple’s ad tracking changes on iOS, competition from TikTok, and a combination of other factors leading to a collapse in its revenue growth. 

That said, all is not lost: based on the third quarter earnings results that Snap announced on Tuesday, its ads business appears to finally be on the upswing. Total revenue grew to nearly $1.2 billion, an increase of 5 percent from the same time last year. Snap is still a money-losing company, though. It posted a net loss of over $368 million for the quarter, slightly higher than the year-ago period.

While the return to revenue growth is certainly a welcome sign, Snap’s management team continues to be in a state of flux. Jerry Hunter, who was named chief operating officer just over a year ago, is retiring and not being replaced, according to the company. CEO Evan Spiegel will directly oversee the top business leaders for Snap’s three biggest regions for the foreseeable future. Additionally, Jack Brody, the VP of product who reported to Spiegel, is leaving and being replaced by Ceci Mourkogiannis, who currently manages the design team. 

If you were subscribed to my Command Line newsletter a couple of weeks ago, you’d already have an inkling that Snap’s business is on the upswing, even though big questions remain about its long-term viability as a standalone company. I’ll have more analysis of this new earnings report and leadership shakeup in my next issue later this week: