NEW YORK, March 19, 2026, 18:38 EDT
Snap Inc shares slipped 6.5 cents Thursday, ending the session at $4.56, as a jump in oil prices rattled traders and drove a selloff in riskier growth names. With bets on U.S. rate cuts fading, Horizon Investments’ Mike Dickson told Reuters that markets are now facing “a real inflation risk.” Reuters
Snap shares took another hit, notching a third consecutive loss on Thursday. The stock, still reeling, has tumbled 56.2% from its July 22 high of $10.41, MarketWatch data showed. Trading volume lagged behind the 50-day average.
Focus remains on whether Snap can ramp up non-ad revenue quickly enough. Last month, Reuters noted the company’s direct-revenue streams — that’s subscriptions, Memories, and in-app purchases, not ads — hit a $1 billion annualized run rate, with more than 25 million subscribers. Still, ads are doing most of the heavy lifting for Snap’s top line, while TikTok and Instagram, owned by Meta, continue to pressure the business.
Advertising’s showing signs of life, but the debate isn’t settled. Snap topped Q4 revenue expectations back in February, fueled by a 28% jump in active advertisers. Still, its Q1 revenue forecast—$1.50 billion to $1.53 billion—lands shy of the $1.55 billion analysts had penciled in. “The ads platform still has a long way to go in attracting big budgets from enterprise advertisers,” Emarketer analyst Max Willens said. Reuters
Snap wasn’t alone in the pullback. Meta dropped about 1.5% by the close Thursday, Pinterest shed roughly 0.6%, and Reddit tumbled 3.3%. The declines suggest investors were cooling on internet and social-media stocks across the board.
Snap’s CFO Derek Andersen offloaded 92,956 shares at an average price of $4.5942, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing signed March 17. The sale, detailed in the document, was made to satisfy tax withholding from vested RSUs—a typical equity payout for execs.
Management has made moves to calm nerves. Back in February, Snap approved a $500 million buyback—aimed at countering dilution from employee stock awards—and reported $2.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as it finished 2025. Chief Executive Evan Spiegel called the latest quarter a “strategic pivot toward profitable growth.” SEC
Snap isn’t done placing bets. Back in January, the company spun off its Specs smart-glasses unit, now running independently and looking for external investors as it sets its sights on Meta in the AI eyewear space. “Success will depend less on breakthrough hardware innovation, but more on ecosystem integration and software value,” IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said. Reuters
The real pressure point remains Snap’s core ad business. Back in August, Reuters pointed to MoffettNathanson analysts who flagged that Snap trailed bigger players when it came to giving advertisers hard sales numbers and a robust toolkit. Morgan Stanley didn’t mince words either—saying Snap still has to convince clients its ads deliver, and make it easier to buy in. If ad dollars keep shifting to those larger platforms, any rebound in Snap shares could prove shaky.
