Why did Snap stock plunge today? More dire notes on advertising's economic prospects
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It's earnings season again, and once again a young (or not-so-young) tech investor's mind turns to ... Snap's (NYSE:SNAP) latest results possibly setting the table for yet another rough quarter for key technology names.
Snap's shock warning in May that it would miss the low end of its Q2 forecasts ended up spreading gloom to its peers, a wider group of ad-tech stocks, broader tech names, and even the overall market.
Now the fear is that very recent history is repeating itself, with big names set to report in the coming week, including Microsoft, Apple, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms and Alphabet.
Snap stock (SNAP) fell more than 39% Friday, dropping into the single digits for the first time in more than two years (at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic). The company missed revenue expectations, continued to lose money, and after falling short in Q2, declined to offer third-quarter guidance at all, warning heavily of an ongoing economic slowdown.
That brought a number of downgrades from analysts bringing out harsh language for their takes, including "lousy" and "remarkably disappointing."
As for whether Snap's forecasts are a negative omen for Internet advertising rivals - deserved or not - the proof Friday looked apparent: Tying social-media results to Snap means the company's report helped wipe out $130B in market value. Meta Platforms (META) fell 7.6%; "ad duopoly" partner Alphabet slid as well: (GOOG) -5.8%; (GOOGL) -5.6%; Pinterest (PINS) slid 13.5%. (Twitter (TWTR) managed a 1% gain even after an earnings miss, amid general reaction that Elon Musk's pursuit means the stock is unmoored from its fundamentals.)
In advertising tech names, Integral Ad Science (IAS) -10.7%; PubMatic (PUBM) -9.8%; Digital Turbine (APPS) -8.7%; ironSource (IS) -8.2%; The Trade Desk (TTD) -7.3%; Magnite (MGNI) -6.9%; Perion Network (PERI) -6.2%; Taboola (TBLA) -5.9%; Innovid (CTV) -5.5%; AppLovin (APP) -5.1%; Viant (DSP) -4.4%; LiveRamp (RAMP) -3.9%.
And Roku (ROKU), linked heavily into connected TV ads, managed its own slide of 8.9% Friday.
Seeking Alpha's Quant Ratings system marked Snap as a Sell on May 17 amid negative grades on valuation, profitability and declining momentum.