Snaps are disassembled and reconstructing themselves from within. In a letter from the new annual company, CEO Evan Spiegel announced that he will rebuild his small “startup team” of 10-15 people to better compete with larger competitors.
The move comes as 5,000 companies face pressure attachments. Ad revenue growth flatlined at 4% in the second quarter, with daily active users in North America down from 2% to 98 million.
Spiegel highlights one bright spot. Snapchat+ subscriptions generate more than $700 million in recurring revenue per year from over 15 million paying subscribers, making direct revenue “one of SNAP’s fastest growing opportunities.”
SNAP has also doubled its specs, building its own AR glasses that Spiegel thinks will completely replace smartphones. He calls them “a once-conversion into human-centered computing.” (Meta and Google will partner with Ray-Ban and Warby Parker respectively to see the same future.)
Spiegel writes that the current stock price “reflects doubts,” but SNAP’s roughly $12 billion valuation has “potential startup-style returns.” He won’t leave. That number fell 90% from September 2021, when Snap’s market capitalization exceeded $116 billion during social media enthusiasts.
