Wednesday, December 17, 2025 — Snap Inc. stock (NYSE: SNAP), the parent of Snapchat, is trading around $7.37 in early Wednesday action, keeping the shares near the lower end of their 52‑week range after a modest rebound in the prior session. [1]
For investors, today’s narrative around SNAP stock is less about a single headline and more about a cluster of moving parts: a broadly cautious analyst stance, a fresh set of insider-sale disclosures (including a CEO 10b5‑1 plan sale), and a strategy that’s increasingly defined by AI partnerships, subscription revenue growth, and longer-term AR hardware ambitions. [2]
SNAP stock price today: where shares stand on Dec. 17, 2025
Snap shares are hovering near $7.37, roughly flat on the day at the time of the latest available quote.
On Tuesday (Dec. 16), SNAP finished at $7.37, up about 1.5%, snapping a short losing streak. [3]
From a “zoom out” perspective, the stock remains well below its 52‑week high (about $13.28) and above its 52‑week low (about $6.90), illustrating just how much skepticism is still priced into the name. [4]
MarketBeat’s data also places SNAP’s 50‑day moving average near $7.89 and its 200‑day moving average near $8.15, which can matter for traders watching trend levels and overhead resistance. [5]
The market’s mood: analysts stay cautious, but price targets imply upside
One of the clearest “as of today” signals is that Wall Street is not in consensus celebration mode.
A MarketBeat roundup published Dec. 17 says 30 research firms collectively rate Snap “Hold” on average, with the breakdown skewing heavily to neutral: 3 sells, 24 holds, and 3 buys. It also reports an average 12‑month price target around $9.85. [6]
That target (if you take it at face value) implies meaningful upside from the current ~$7 area—but the distribution matters. TipRanks’ snapshot highlights a wide range of outcomes, with an average price target around $9.60, and targets spanning roughly $7 to $13. [7]
The takeaway for readers: the “average” looks optimistic, but the dispersion screams uncertainty. In practice, it means the debate is still alive on fundamentals—especially user trends, ad monetization efficiency, and the cost of staying competitive in AI.
Insider activity is back in focus: what recent SEC filings show
Insider transactions often get over-interpreted (humans love reading tea leaves). Still, with SNAP trading near lows, recent SEC filings are getting extra attention—particularly because they include both routine selling mechanics (taxes / plans) and new proposed-sales notices.
CEO Evan Spiegel: sales under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan
A Form 4 filed with the SEC shows Snap CEO Evan Spiegel reported sales of 1,300 shares on Dec. 5 and 1,258,600 shares on Dec. 8, at prices around $8 per share (including a weighted average price disclosure for the larger batch). The filing also indicates these sales were executed under a Rule 10b5‑1 trading plan adopted on Sept. 4, 2025. [8]
That detail is important: 10b5‑1 plans are pre-arranged and designed to reduce the appearance (and risk) of trading on material nonpublic information. The filing also discloses continuing direct ownership after the transactions. [9]
Other executive sales: RSU tax withholding is a common driver
Separate Form 4 filings show sales by Snap’s General Counsel Michael J. O’Sullivan and Chief Accounting Officer Rebecca Morrow dated Nov. 17, 2025, with footnotes indicating the sales were used to cover tax withholding obligations tied to RSU settlement (a very standard corporate equity-compensation workflow). [10]
This nuance matters because “insider selling” headlines often sound ominous, but RSU tax sales are not the same thing as an insider cashing out due to a deteriorating outlook.
New proposed-sale notice: Form 144 filing dated Dec. 16
A TradingView/Refinitiv item posted from The Washington Service notes that O’Sullivan filed a Form 144 on Dec. 16, 2025 proposing a sale of 14,572 shares. Form 144 filings are not confirmations that a sale has happened—they are notices tied to a plan to sell restricted securities within a defined window. [11]
The broader context
MarketBeat’s Dec. 17 write-up also characterizes insider selling activity over the past three months as notable in aggregate (by share count and value). [12]
None of this alone tells you where the stock goes next week. But it does help explain why—on a slow headline day—insider filings become “the story” for a stock already trading on fragile sentiment.
Business fundamentals: what Snap last reported (and why it still matters for SNAP stock)
The most recent “hard” business update that still frames the stock is Snap’s third-quarter 2025 performance and guidance.
In its Q3 2025 results release dated Nov. 5, 2025, Snap reported:
- Revenue of $1.507 billion, up 10% year over year
- Daily Active Users (DAUs) of 477 million, up 8%
- Monthly Active Users (MAUs) of 943 million, up 7%
- Operating cash flow of $146 million and free cash flow of $93 million
- Net loss of $104 million and diluted net loss per share of $0.06 [13]
Reuters’ coverage of the same quarter reinforced the headline points and added detail that investors have been tracking closely:
- Snap’s Q3 revenue beat analysts’ average estimate (per LSEG data in the report)
- Snap said direct-response ad revenue rose during the quarter, with demand tied to specific optimization products [14]
Q4 guidance: revenue outlook vs. user-headwind warning
For Q4, Reuters reported Snap guided to $1.68 billion to $1.71 billion in revenue, broadly in line with expectations—but also included a key caution: Snap warned that overall DAUs may decline in Q4 due to shifting investment priorities and anticipated impacts from age verification and evolving regulatory landscapes, citing Australia’s social media minimum age bill as one relevant example. [15]
That combination—revenue outlook ok, user outlook uncertain—is one reason SNAP stock has struggled to sustain rallies in 2025. Advertising platforms can sometimes grow revenue without growing users, but durable re-ratings typically come when both are moving cleanly in the right direction.
AI and product strategy: what bulls point to, and why skeptics still exist
Snap’s forward story increasingly depends on whether it can monetize engagement beyond traditional brand ads—without getting crushed by bigger rivals’ scale.
Perplexity AI partnership: $400 million deal, but revenue impact pushed to 2026
One of the biggest recent strategic headlines was Snap’s partnership with Perplexity AI to integrate AI-powered search into Snapchat. Reuters reported Perplexity will pay Snap $400 million over one year (cash and equity), with revenue contributions expected from 2026. [16]
Reuters also quoted CEO Evan Spiegel saying Snap would not sell advertising against Perplexity responses, which suggests Snap is positioning this as a product/engagement feature and a commercial partnership—rather than a classic “ads next to AI answers” play. [17]
Snapchat+ subscriptions: the push for “direct revenue” continues
Subscriptions are the other major pillar. Reuters reported in late October that Snapchat+ surpassed 16 million subscribers, more than doubling since early 2024, and described new features aimed at improving retention among paying users. [18]
That same report highlighted Snap’s internal data indicating users who engage with customization features show retention more than 10 percentage points higher than other users—an important metric if Snap is trying to grow subscription revenue into something more predictable than ad cycles. [19]
A longer-term bet: AR smart glasses (“Specs”) planned for 2026
Snap is also still investing in AR hardware as a long-horizon differentiator. Reuters reported Snap plans to launch consumer smart glasses called “Specs” in 2026, with CEO Evan Spiegel saying the company has invested more than $3 billion over 11 years in developing its AR glasses efforts. [20]
Separately, Snap’s own press release describes Specs as a “lightweight, immersive” wearable computer integrated into glasses with see-through lenses, disclosed at AWE 2025. [21]
For SNAP stock, this is a classic “option value” storyline: it could become a meaningful platform expansion—or it could remain a costly moonshot with uncertain adoption.
Forecasts to watch: what matters into early 2026
When readers search “Snap stock forecast,” they often want a simple number. Realistically, the forecast is a stack of questions that resolve over time.
1) Next earnings: date is still “estimated”
Multiple market calendars currently list Snap’s next earnings report as estimated for February 3, 2026 (after market close), based on historical reporting patterns—not a confirmed company-announced date. [22]
2) Revenue and user trajectory vs. regulation risk
Heading into that report, one of the biggest fundamentals questions remains whether Q4 shows:
- continued revenue resilience (in line with Q4 guidance), and
- how meaningful the DAU headwinds become amid age verification and regulatory changes. [23]
3) Subscription momentum and ARPU mix
Snapchat+ growth and retention are increasingly central to the “quality” of revenue, not just the quantity—because subscription dollars are typically less cyclical than ad budgets. [24]
Key risks for Snap stock (the stuff that keeps analysts at “Hold”)
A neutral analyst consensus usually means the market sees credible upside and credible ways the story can break. In Snap’s case, the recurring risks include:
- Competition: Snap is “squeezed” between dominant platforms like TikTok and Meta’s Instagram in both user attention and advertising scale. [25]
- Regulation and age verification: Snap has explicitly warned about potential Q4 DAU declines tied to regulation/age verification shifts. [26]
- Cost structure and AI investment: earlier analysis has noted that heavier AI and infrastructure spending can push profitability further out, even if it strengthens long-term competitiveness. [27]
- Insider-sale headlines: even when sales are preplanned or tax-related, the optics can weigh on a stock already battling weak momentum. [28]
Bottom line: what today’s SNAP stock setup suggests
On Dec. 17, 2025, Snap stock is behaving like a company in the middle of a strategic remodel: it’s trying to diversify beyond ads (subscriptions, partnerships) while also placing big bets on AI and AR—yet the share price reflects persistent doubts about consistency, user trends, and the cost of competing at scale. [29]
With shares near $7.37, the next major “decision point” for the market is likely the next earnings cycle (currently penciled in for early February 2026), when investors will look for confirmation that revenue guidance held up—and that the user/regulatory headwinds flagged in Q4 guidance didn’t turn into a deeper growth problem. [30]
References
1. www.marketwatch.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.marketwatch.com, 4. www.marketbeat.com, 5. www.marketbeat.com, 6. www.marketbeat.com, 7. www.tipranks.com, 8. www.sec.gov, 9. www.sec.gov, 10. www.sec.gov, 11. www.tradingview.com, 12. www.marketbeat.com, 13. investor.snap.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.reuters.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. investor.snap.com, 22. www.marketbeat.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.reuters.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.reuters.com, 27. www.marketwatch.com, 28. www.sec.gov, 29. www.reuters.com, 30. www.marketbeat.com
