Snap warned that its revenues could drop by as much as 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, as the social media platform continues to be dogged by changes to Apple’s privacy policies that have upended its ability to tailor advertising to users.
Revenues at the Los Angeles-based company remained flat year on year at $1.3bn in the fourth quarter of 2022, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was the slowest pace of growth since the company went public in 2017, against the backdrop of an advertising slump and tough macroeconomic conditions.
However, in a letter to investors on Tuesday, Snap said that its internal forecasts assume revenues will decline by between 2 per cent and 10 per cent in the current quarter, as it continues to overhaul its advertising infrastructure after Apple’s iOS update. So far this quarter it said its revenues were down by about 7 per cent.