Snap, the parent company behind social media and messaging app Snapchat, just got some good news in its battle with Instagram.
Snapchat usage is growing faster than Instagram, according to research from investment bank Jefferies, and a surprising amount of that growth is from users over 35 years old. Jefferies equity analyst Brian Fitzgerald circulated a note to clients April 17, reiterating his "Buy" rating and $30.00 price target for the stock.
Snap announced that it will host its first quarterly earnings call on May 10, and Fitzgerald said that there could be upside to the company's results, "driven by out perform in both DAU (daily active users) and the key ARPU (average revenue per user) metrics."
A survey from Jefferies of internet users between 18 and 45 showed that Snapchat usage is growing faster than Facebook's Instagram:
"When asked 'In the last 6 months, have you increased your usage of either of these apps:' 23% of respondents aged 25-34 chose both Snapchat & Instagram, 19% chose only Snapchat, and 14% chose Instagram. For those aged 35-44, results were similar with 25% choosing both, 19% choosing Snapchat, and only 13% choosing Instagram."
Surprisingly, the biggest usage increases were seen in users older than 25. Of those age 25-34, 41% reported using the app more, while for those age 34-44 that number was 44%. Data from comScore was even more dramatic, with daily active user growth of 48% for those age 25-34 and 69% for those age 35-44.
Data from comScore also shows that year-over-year monthly active user growth (MAU) and monthly unique visitors is much stronger for Snapchat than Instagram. Of course, the Jefferies note points out that Snapchat's rapid growth compared to Instagram is coming "off a much lower base."
Instagram is still leading Snapchat on daily engagement and daily unique visitors. However, Jefferies says Snap is catching up:
"When asked 'Which app would you estimate you spend more time per day', ~30% responded with slightly more time on Instagram. 'Slightly more on Snapchat' generated ~26% with 'Much more time on Instagram' generating ~25%. Much more time on Snapchat was selected by 20% of respondents."
Jefferies also notes the potential for Snap's property Bitmoji, with 30% of survey respondents age 18-24 reporting that they are using Bitmoji.
Snap is just at the beginning of monetizing its userbase, according to Fitzgerald. He said there sees multiple avenues to make this happen including: games, snap "filter" sponsorships, and traditional mobile advertising. Jefferies expects monetization to begin to show in first quarter results with a rise in average revenue per user.