MEME
SNAP
Cost cuts, meet the skeptical eyebrow
Snap is doing the corporate version of clearing out the garage: about 1,000 jobs gone, more than $500 million in annualized savings targeted, and a sharper focus on higher-margin ads and Snapchat+. On paper, that’s a cleaner path to profitability. In analyst land, though, it’s more “show me” than “mission accomplished.”
BNP Paribas says: nice try
Nick Jones and the BNP Paribas crew nudged their numbers around to reflect the leaner cost structure, but they kept Snap at Underperform with a $6 price target. That’s basically the investing equivalent of saying, “Your haircut looks better, but we’re still not sold on the wardrobe.”
Why the market is still nervous
The big issue isn’t just expenses — it’s growth that needs to stop tripping over its own shoelaces. Jones pointed to declining daily active users in North America and Europe, which is a problem when your whole business depends on keeping people scrolling, tapping, and seeing ads.
- Snap now expects 2026 adjusted operating expenses of $2.75 billion, down from $3 billion
- Stock-based compensation is now pegged at $1.05 billion, down from $1.2 billion
- First-quarter 2026 revenue guidance came in at $1.529 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of $233 million
- Restructuring charges are expected to hit $95 million to $130 million, mostly in Q2
The stock still needs a real plot twist
Snap’s near-term setup looks better than its long-term story. The shares have bounced, but they’re still stuck in a bigger downtrend, and the next real test is the May 6 earnings report. If management can prove that cost cuts are more than just a nice-looking spreadsheet exercise, the stock could get some air. If not, investors may decide this is just a slimmer version of the same old Snap.
Big picture: Cutting costs can buy Snap time, but it can’t fake user growth. And in social media, attention is the whole game.