Snapchat posts revenue jump, thanks to audience tracking tool

The total number of advertisers doubled, with active users also increasing for the quarter.

Snap has reported positive results in its third quarter financial report. The company saw a 15% increase in revenue, bringing the total to $1.37 billion, as well as a 229% improvement in adjusted year-over-year EBITDA of $132 million.

The social network posted a 9% increase in its number of followers, reaching 443 million daily active users in the third quarter, a year-over-year increase of 37 million. Snapchat+ subscribers also doubled year-over-year to more than 12 million in Q3. Total time spent watching content on the app increased 25% year-over-year.

The total number of active advertisers also doubled in the quarter, with ad revenues increasing by 16% year-on-year. According to Snap, this was driven by strong demand for Pixel Purchase (a tool that records the behaviour of users after clicking on the ad in Snapchat), which was up 160% year-over-year.

“Our investments in AI and AR are powering new creative experiences for our community and driving innovation across our advertising platform, underpinning our long-term growth opportunity,” CEO Evan Spiegel said in a statement.

This past quarter, the social network announced an expanded partnership with Google Cloud to power additional generative AI experiences within My AI, its AI-powered chatbot. It introduced new AI features to start conversations, create Snaps and improve My AI’s ability to solve problems. It also launched new tools designed to help educators understand how their students use Snapchat, and resources to help them create safe environments.

Additionally, it introduced First Lens Unlimited, which offers advertisers the first impression of the day in the first slot of the lens carousel, allowing them to reach the community at greater scale. And it’s also in the early stages of experimenting with two new ad formats, sponsored snaps and sponsored locations, to help brands reach users in more engaging ways.

For the fourth quarter, Snap said its adjusted earnings will be between $210 million and $260 million.