Snap gives rare warning as social media stocks wipe out billions in one day

Snap Inc. shares sank 40% Tuesday morning after warning it would miss its own revenue and earnings targets, dragging the entire social media industry with it. The correction came just one month after the social media company had set those targets.

“Since we issued guidance on April 21, 2022, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated further and faster than anticipated,” the company wrote in a securities filing.

On track for its worst day ever, the stock was trading well below its 2017 public offering price of $17. And it’s far from the only company to take a hit. Meta (Facebook), Alphabet (Google), Pinterest and Twitter all saw steep losses Tuesday.

Bloomberg reports Snap’s bad news shed $165 billion off social media stocks, with Piper Sandler analyst Tom Champion noting, “Our sense is this is more macro and industry-driven versus Snap specific.”

“Like many companies, we continue to face rising inflation and interest rates, supply chain shortages and labor disruptions, platform policy changes, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and more,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in a note to employees.

The various issues have forced brands and advertisers to rethink ad spending for the quarter, putting a damper on projections for companies like Snap that rely on online ad sales revenue.

“While our revenue continues to grow year-over-year, it is growing more slowly than we expected at this time,” Spiegel said.

The company said it plans to slow its hiring pace for the year and evaluate the remaining annual budget to look for cost savings.