In the third quarter of 2020, Snapchat reached record highs. 

In the midst of a global pandemic, 
Snapchat is doing better than ever. Its parent company, Snap Inc, has published 
its third quarter 2020 results and the least that can be said is that all the indicators are green: its number of users is increasing, its market capitalization is breaking records and the revenue generated exceeds all forecasts.

249 million daily users and $678.7 million in revenue generated

In the third quarter of 2020, Snapchat recorded 249 million daily active users , 11 million more than the previous quarter and 20 million more than at the beginning of the year . This spectacular growth, once again exceeding all analyst forecasts, is largely attributed to Generation Z users in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

Even more impressive, the company’s revenue is up 52% ​​compared to the same period the previous year  : from July to September 2020, Snap’s revenue reached $678.7 million . Here again, analysts had underestimated the social network’s capabilities, having “only” predicted $557 million in revenue.

Furthermore, following the release of these excellent quarterly results, Snap’s stock price rose by 20% , bringing the company’s market capitalization to over $50 billion. This is a record since its Wall Street debut in 2017 .

What accounts for the success of Snapchat?

Snapchat attributes this resounding success to the redesign of its Android app in 2019, but also to its augmented reality Lenses, which have significantly boosted user engagement on the platform . Evan Spiegel, the company’s CEO, explained that “The adoption of augmented reality has happened faster than we anticipated, and we feel well-positioned to seize the many opportunities before us .” He specifically cited the example of the Anime Lens, which garnered over 3 billion interactions during its first week .

For Jeremi Gorman, Snap’s Chief Commercial Officer, the advertiser boycott of Facebook also contributed to his company’s increased revenue. He explains: “As brands and other organizations used this period of uncertainty as an opportunity to evaluate their advertising spending, we saw many brands seeking to align their marketing efforts with platforms that share their corporate values .” He adds: “This gave us the opportunity to engage with advertisers and agencies in real time to ensure that our existing partners, as well as new prospects, understood our offering in relation to our values . “