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Snap beats revenue estimates on ad boost from World Cup

By Thomson Reuters Aug 3, 2026 | 3:13 PM

Aug 3 (Reuters) – Snap beat Wall Street estimate for second-quarter revenue on Monday, thanks to increased advertising spending during the FIFA World Cup and stronger campaign activity from ​large advertisers in North America.

The social media company’s shares ‌jumped 9% in extended trading.

Snap’s focus on direct response ads, designed to prompt specific actions such as app downloads or website visits, is helping it attract advertisers in a crowded market, where bigger rivals such as Meta ‌Platforms ​is offering AI-powered tools for better user ⁠targeting.

The Snapchat parent provides ⁠Smart Campaign Solutions, its AI-powered suite of ad tools that automate bidding, budgeting and audience targeting, allowing advertisers to improve results more efficiently.

“After several quarters of improving our ad products ​and go-to-market approach, we saw better momentum with large advertisers in North America,” CEO Evan Spiegel said. “The World Cup-related spending ⁠contributed during the quarter, alongside continued ⁠strength among small- and medium-sized businesses.”

Its daily active users ​increased about 5% to 493 million during the three months to ​June 30, maintaining the same pace of growth as ‌in the prior two quarters.

Snap reported nearly a 7% decline in North America DAUs and about a 2% drop in Europe, mirroring the performance recorded in its two largest revenue-generating regions in ⁠the prior quarter.

Second-quarter revenue jumped around 19% to $1.60 billion, while analysts estimated $1.54 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Growing Snapchat+ subscriptions also ⁠benefited the company.

Snap ‌expects third-quarter revenue of $1.70 billion to $1.74 billion, with ⁠its midpoint slightly above the estimate of $1.70 billion. ​It ‌forecast adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and ​amortization of $300 ⁠million and $350 million, compared with the estimate of $329.9 million.

The company said it continues to monitor the evolving legal and regulatory landscape in the U.S. and internationally that could materially impact its business, including increased scrutiny on youth-related issues.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing ​by Shilpi Majumdar)