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Snapchat Blames Russia

Snapchat Blames Russia

Today is Friday, April 22, 2022.

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Snapchat Blames Russia for Decline

Shares of Snap (NYSE: SNAP), the parent of Snapchat, ticked up 0.68% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company posted negative earnings results.

Financials: Snap reported a loss of 2 cents per share and revenue of $1.63 billion; both were below estimates.

Before and After: Revenue growth hit 44% year-over-year in the quarter before February 23. When Russia invaded Ukraine the following day, Snap said that several advertisers paused their campaigns. Most advertisers resumed their campaigns 10 days later.

Growth: Daily active users increased 18% in the quarter and revenue grew 38%.

Numbers: Shares of Snap are down 46% in the past six months and 18% in the past 30 days.

Final Thoughts: It’s great that Snap has grown its user base, although that growth has seemed to slow a bit. Will the other social media platforms announce similar problems during their earnings?

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF), Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Newmont (NYSE: NEM), SAP (NYSE: SAP), Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), Regions Financial (NYSE: RF), HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA), Autoliv (NYSE: ALV), Gentex (Nasdaq: GNTX).

Notable IPOs Today: N/A.

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: KUL MOCKS (Republic), Sienna Sauce (Republic), Cria Hair (Republic), True East Leaf (MainVest), Epoch Financial Group (Republic).

Notable Economic Events Today: JManufacturing PMI (9:45 a.m. ET), Services PMI (9:45 a.m. ET), Markit Composite PMI (9:45 a.m. ET).

Boston Beer Sees Shipment Volume Drop

Photo by engin akyurt / Unsplash

Shares of the Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) fell 3.17% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the brewery posted negative earnings.

Financials: Boston Beer reported a loss of 16 cents per share and revenue of $430.1 million; both were below estimates.

The Culprit: The company’s shipment volume dropped 25.1% year-over-year, a massive setback for Boston Beer.

Numbers: Shares of Boston Beer are down 34% in the past six months and 15% in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: Boston Beer rolled out its new Truly Vodka Seltzer on Thursday. Hopefully, this can help drive new sales for the company.

Is Defense Investing a Good Bet Now?

While the economic conditions seem ripe for a defensive investing strategy, the results are all over the place.

Down and Down: While it is true that technology stocks have been hammered in 2022, even so-called safer and defensive stocks in consumer staples have also dipped a bit this year.

Experts Say: Top fund managers around the world adopted a defensive investing strategy in March due to economic conditions, according to a Reuters poll.

Final Thoughts: On the surface, defensive investing is popular now and defensive stocks are performing better than growth stocks, but the strategy behind defensive investing is far from perfect.

Trends to Watch

It’s a Small World After All: Why Disney has its own government in Florida and what happens if that goes away (CNN)

Coming for Twitter: Elon Musk Says He Has $46.5 Billion in Funding for Twitter Bid (The Wall Street Journal)

Falling: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Down As Fed's Powell Dials Up Hawkish Tone (Benzinga)

Bullish: Morgan Stanley Says Crypto Could Become More Widely Used as Currency (CoinDesk)

Goal Reached: Qonto Easily Hits Crowdfunding Max using Crowdcube for EU Securities Offering (Crowdfund Insider)