By Akash Sriram
(Reuters) -Snap forecast current-quarter results below expectations on Thursday as the Snapchat owner grapples with stiff competition from larger rivals for advertising dollars in an uncertain economy, sending its shares down 18% after-market.
Its biggest competitors - Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Bytedance's TikTok - far outrank it in terms of scale and established advertiser relationships.
"Light Q3 guidance doesn't help soothe their (investor) concerns. Snap faces tough competition from its much larger rival Meta, which investors rewarded for its strong ad business performance yesterday," said eMarketer principal analyst Jasmine Enberg.
Meta forecast strong revenue for the third quarter and beat June-quarter sales estimates.
Considered a more experimental advertising platform, Snap's revenue growth has come under pressure over the past few quarters as high interest rates prompt enterprise clients in certain sectors to tighten their marketing budgets.
"Brand-oriented advertising revenue declined 1% year-over-year, driven by particularly weak demand from certain consumer discretionary verticals including retail, technology, and entertainment," Snap said in its letter to shareholders.
Its stock has been volatile over the past year, and was down about 24% as of Thursday's close after having fallen roughly 64% from a record high in October 2021.
Snap has been investing heavily in its augmented reality platform, providing advertisers with branded AI-generated filters and lenses to attract audiences.
The image-messaging platform's second-quarter revenue of $1.24 billion missed analysts' estimates of $1.25 billion, according to LSEG data.
Image pinboard platform Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) also projected a muted third quarter on Wednesday, dashing investor hopes of a swift rebound in growth.
Still, analysts have said Snap is set to benefit from a potential ban on TikTok in the United States as advertisers turn to Snapchat to grab the attention of younger users.
Snap forecast a third-quarter revenue range with a midpoint of $1.355 billion, marginally below Wall Street estimates of $1.36 billion.
It expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization between $70 million and $100 million in the third quarter, below expectations of $110.8 million.
Daily active users (DAU) of Snapchat grew to 432 million at the end of June, beating estimates of 431.2 million. The Santa Monica, California-based company expects its DAU to reach 441 million in the third quarter.