INTERNATIONAL – Snap shares slipped after Cheddar released a 15-page memo written by chief executive Evan Spiegel on September 26 which stated a "stretch goal" of being break-even in the fourth quarter and profitable in 2019. The stock hit an all-time low yesterday after dropping 5.2 percent.
Wall Street analysts disagree with the optimistic view. Consensus fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share is estimated at a loss of 10 cents and 2019 full-year estimated at a loss of 45 cents.
Analysts from Evercore ISI and Citigroup both cut their price targets to $7 yesterday, implying another 13 percent downside from this morning’s highs. Earlier, Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley said in a note to clients that the memo’s positive tone and ambitions to accelerate top-line growth in 2019 and get back to break-even faster than investors expect were positives.
Spiegel sees achieving revenue and profitably goals by driving daily-average-user and engagement, improving measurement/optimization and increasing the active advertiser counts. But Walmsley believes a return to daily-average-user growth and stabilizing revenue growth is unlikely in the near-term.