Snap skyrockets 26% after quarterly report shows users flocking to the app during quarantine (SNAP)

Snapchat employee

Snap shares surged as much as 26% on Tuesday after the company's first-quarter report showed 20% year-over-year user growth and better-than-expected profits.
The Snapchat-parent posted $462.5 million in revenue through the period, about $140 million more than in the year-ago period.
Daily active user growth was its highest since 2017 as quarantine orders drove outsized app usage.
The company declined to issue second-quarter guidance, citing uncertainties around the coronavirus pandemic.
Watch Snap trade live here.

Snap announced first-quarter earnings after Tuesday's close that topped estimates lowered by fears of a coronavirus-fueled recession.

The Snapchat-parent saw daily users and revenue trounce expectations as consumers turned to its app to stay connected amid strict stay-at-home orders around the world. Most guidance for the second quarter was withheld, with the company citing uncertainties related to the pandemic. Snap still sees daily active users rising to 239 million by the end of the second quarter.

Snap shares soared as much as 26% in Tuesday trading, reaching their highest level since February 26.

Here are the key numbers:

Revenue: $462.5 million, versus $320.4 million year-over-year

Adjusted loss per share: 8 cents, versus 10 cents year-over-year

Daily active users: 229 million, versus 190 million year-over-year and analysts' 223.8 million estimate

User growth leaped 20% from the first quarter of 2019, its highest year-over-year user growth since the second quarter of 2017.

"Our product has never been more important than people's lives, especially for helping close friends and families stay together emotionally while they are separated physically," Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in an earnings call transcribed by Sentieo. "We are seeing sustained communication volumes on our service that eclipse the peaks we see during major holidays."

Snap also gave a near-term estimate for revenue, forecasting 15% year-over-year growth through April 19. While widespread quarantine activity has boosted usage of its flagship app, the company warned revenue could slip as advertisers trim spending.

The earnings beat saw social media peers Facebook and Twitter trade higher, gaining about 5% each.

Snap traded at $15.70 per share as of 10:25 a.m. ET Wednesday, down 2% year-to-date. The company has 25 "buy" ratings, 13 "hold" ratings, and one "sell" rating from analysts.

Now read more markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:

Gold prices will nearly double to a record $3,000 as central banks fuel 'financial repression,' Bank of America says

A hedge fund manager who dominated the last financial crisis posted a 26% loss during March's violent sell-offs, new report says

Meet the 20-year-old day-trading phenom who turned $20,000 into $3 million. He details his precise strategy — and shares how he made $11,400 in 2 minutes this week.