Snap Stock (SNAP) News and Forecast for Dec. 18, 2025: Shares Hold Near $7.50 as Snapchat Launches Quick Cut and Analysts Stay Cautious

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) is starting December 18, 2025 with its stock hovering around the mid-$7 range after a second straight day of gains—an eye-catching move because it came on a broadly negative session for U.S. equities. On Wednesday (Dec. 17), SNAP closed at $7.50, up 1.76%, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.81%. ^[1]

Today’s setup for Snap investors is a familiar mix of “green shoots” and “here be dragons”: new in-app creator tools designed to drive engagement, steady progress in subscriptions and performance ads, and continued Wall Street skepticism reflected in mostly “Hold” ratings—even as many price targets sit well above the current share price. ^[2]

What’s moving Snap stock today

A lot of what investors are reacting to on Dec. 18 is less about a single headline and more about the ongoing tug-of-war around Snap’s turnaround narrative:

SNAP is showing relative strength: It rose again on Dec. 17 even as major tech names and the broader market fell, with volume above its 50-day average—often read as “real” participation rather than a thin bounce. ^[3]
Snapchat just rolled out a new in-app editing feature (“Quick Cut”) aimed at making video creation faster—important because creator output and content consumption are the raw fuel for ad inventory and engagement metrics. ^[4]
Fresh insider-trading filings show recent share sales by key executives, though the filings also clarify that some of these transactions were tied to tax withholding on RSU settlements (often routine, not necessarily a directional “bet” against the company). ^[5]

Snapchat’s “Quick Cut” launch: why investors should care

Late Dec. 17, Snap announced Quick Cut, a Lens-powered tool that automatically stitches together selected photos and clips into a beat-synced video inside Snapchat. Snap says it’s available on iOS now, with plans to expand to Android and more surfaces inside the app. ^[6]

This might sound like “just another feature,” but for a platform like Snapchat, editing friction matters. The faster a user can turn camera-roll chaos into something shareable, the more likely they are to post to Stories/Spotlight—and the more content people watch, the more monetizable moments exist.

Snap itself frames Quick Cut as part of a broader push to lower the barrier to video creation, including earlier tools like Timeline Editor in Director Mode. ^[7]

Engagement isn’t just vibes: Snap is pushing hard on usage habits

Two other recent product narratives help explain why Snap keeps shipping creator/communication tools into the end of the year:

Snapchat Recap 2025 is rolling out, giving users a personalized highlight reel based on their Snaps, Stories, and chats. Snap also published usage stats that point to growth in voice/video communication and group chat behavior—signals of stickiness and habit formation. ^[8]
Memories storage monetization remains a live topic. Snap previously announced that most users won’t be affected, but those above a free threshold can upgrade via paid storage options; it’s part of Snap’s larger attempt to diversify revenue beyond advertising. ^[9]

From a stock perspective, the important thread is that Snap is trying to do two things at once: (1) keep engagement high (Recap + new creation tools), and (2) slowly shift revenue toward more predictable streams (subscriptions + storage + improved ad performance).

The fundamentals Snap last reported: ad performance, subscriptions, and AR/AI bets

Snap’s most recent quarterly report (Q3 2025) is still the financial anchor investors reference heading into year-end:

Revenue: $1.507 billion, up 10% year over year
DAUs:477 million (up 8%)
MAUs:943 million (up 7%)
Operating cash flow: $146 million; Free Cash Flow: $93 million
“Other Revenue” (mostly Snapchat+ subscription revenue):$190 million, up 54% year over year ^[10]

Snap also highlighted momentum in Direct Response advertising and purchase-related ad revenue, pointing to improved optimization and attribution—critical areas for convincing advertisers that Snap can drive measurable outcomes, not just awareness. ^[11]

AR and AI: the long game Snap is still funding

Snap continues to position itself as an AR-first company, with big engagement numbers around lenses and generative AI tools (e.g., Gen AI Lenses, an open-prompt image generation lens, and developer tooling). It also reiterated its hardware/software roadmap for “Specs” in 2026, supported by a Snap OS 2.0 update. ^[12]

The Perplexity partnership is still a big 2026 catalyst

One of the clearest “strategic narrative” drivers this quarter is Snap’s partnership with Perplexity, designed to integrate conversational AI search into Snapchat’s chat interface starting in early 2026. Snap described it as a large-scale integration of an external AI partner directly into the app. ^[13]

Reuters previously reported that Perplexity would pay Snap $400 million over one year (mix of cash and equity), with revenue expected to begin reflecting in 2026, and that investors saw it as a sign Snap could compete more credibly in AI. ^[14]

Insider sales: what just got filed (and what the filings actually say)

Insider selling can spook investors, but context is everything—especially whether the sales were discretionary or administrative.

Two SEC Form 4 filings dated for transactions on Dec. 16, 2025 show:

CFO Derek Andersen sold 34,535 shares at a weighted average price around $7.2136; the filing states the sale was to cover tax withholding obligations tied to RSU settlement. ^[15]
Chief Business Officer Ajit Mohan sold 28,137 shares at a weighted average price around $7.213; the filing similarly states the sale was to cover tax withholding obligations tied to RSU settlement. ^[16]

MarketBeat also flagged a separate insider transaction: Snap’s Chief Accounting Officer Rebecca Morrow sold 3,783 shares on Dec. 17 at about $7.34, per its report. ^[17]

Bottom line: insider activity is worth tracking, but RSU-related tax sales are often more “pay the IRS” than “run for the hills.”

Analyst forecasts on Snap stock: “Hold” dominates, but targets imply upside

Consensus on Snap remains cautious.

MarketBeat’s compilation of analyst targets shows an average 12‑month price target around $9.85, with a range from $7.00 to $13.00, and a consensus stance that leans heavily toward Hold ratings. ^[18]

Recent notable analyst/firm moves cited in widely circulated roundups include:

Evercore ISI raising its price target to $13 from $12 while keeping an “In Line” rating (reported in November). ^[19]
Other target changes around Snap’s Q3 report across firms including BMO, Goldman Sachs, and Stifel, reflecting a spread of views from more constructive to outright skeptical. ^[20]

Benzinga’s review of Wall Street coverage (as of mid-December) similarly describes a wide dispersion, citing a consensus target above $10 with a high-end target well above current levels and a low-end target below it—another way of saying: analysts disagree on whether Snap is a value opportunity or a value trap. ^[21]

The next big date: Snap earnings (Q4 2025) and what to watch into February

The next major scheduled catalyst is earnings. MarketBeat lists Snap’s next earnings date as estimated Feb. 3, 2026 (after market close) based on historical reporting patterns. ^[22]

Investors will likely focus on a few “make-or-break” questions:

Is Direct Response advertising continuing to accelerate—and is that improvement durable? ^[23]
Are subscriptions and other revenue (including storage plans) still growing fast enough to meaningfully diversify the business? ^[24]
Do engagement tools like Quick Cut and Recap translate into higher content creation and more time spent? ^[25]
Any additional clarity on the Perplexity AI integration timeline and potential monetization pathways. ^[26]

Risks that still hang over SNAP

Snap’s bull case is real—improving ad performance, growing subscriptions, and a coherent AR/AI strategy—but the risk list is also very real:

Competition remains relentless in both user attention and ad budgets.
Regulatory pressure on youth-focused platforms is increasing globally. Reuters highlighted Australia’s under‑16 social media ban and the operational demands it can place on major platforms; Snapchat is mentioned among services teens use, underscoring how policy shifts can hit Snap’s core demographic. ^[27]
Execution risk: turning product innovation (Quick Cut, AI tools, AR) into profitable growth is the whole game—and the market has historically punished Snap when growth doesn’t translate to stronger margins.

Where Snap stock stands on Dec. 18, 2025

As of today, SNAP is acting like a stock that’s trying to build a floor: it’s stabilizing around the mid-$7s, still far below its 52-week highs, and getting periodic boosts from product momentum and improving monetization—but it remains in “prove it” territory for many analysts and long-term investors. ^[28]