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Per the Internal forecast, the company expects revenues between $1.56 billion and $1.6 billion, implying year-over-year growth of around 9% to 12%. The revenue range excludes potential contribution from the Perplexity AI integration, as both partners have yet to align on a broader rollout path.
For the upcoming quarter, management has guided adjusted EBITDA between $170 million and $190 million.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is currently pegged at $1.52 billion, indicating an 11.53% increase from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
The consensus mark for the bottom line has increased 12.5% to 9 cents per share in the past 30 days.
Snap’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate once in the trailing four quarters, while matching the same twice and missing the same once, with an average negative surprise of 45%.
Let’s see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement.
Factors to Note
Investors are closely watching how Snap has navigated its strategic pivot toward profitable growth amid evolving regulatory dynamics, intensifying competition in augmented reality and online advertising and a measured macro backdrop. Management has framed 2026 as a critical year of execution against its medium-term goal of meaningful net income profitability.
Management has indicated that the macro operating environment has remained relatively stable through the quarter and that the guidance assumes continued stability.
North America’s large-customer headwinds have persisted, while bright spots have emerged in U.S. Financial Services and autos verticals, supported by new leadership over the segment.
Multiple first-quarter announcements appear positioned to support results. Snap established Specs Inc. as a wholly-owned subsidiary to bring operational focus and capital flexibility ahead of the consumer launch of Specs later this year.
The company also rolled out Creator Subscriptions, with alpha testing beginning Feb. 23 across select U.S. creators and expanding into Canada, the United Kingdom and France.
In the quarter under review, Snap disclosed that its direct revenue business crossed a $1 billion annualized run rate, with the subscription community surpassing 25 million members. Snap has further scaled its ad portfolio with Total Snap Takeovers, Sponsored Snaps, Promoted Places and Smart Campaign Solutions, while active-advertiser growth has continued.
Artificial intelligence has been another notable contributor. On Mar 24, 2026, Snap launched AI Clips in Lens Studio, a closed-prompt photo-to-video AI Lens format available to Lens+ subscribers with creator monetization via Lens+ Payouts. The early-2026 Perplexity rollout into Snapchat's Chat interface has expanded conversational AI alongside My AI, while AI-powered Smart Campaign Solutions, including Smart Budgets and Smart Ads, have aided ad performance and active-advertiser scale.
Several pressures are likely to have weighed on first-quarter performance. Platform-level age verification in Australia has continued to compress reported user metrics, and similar regulatory measures are advancing in other markets. North American daily-active-user softness, sustained augmented reality and Specs investments, and infrastructure costs guided in the $1.6-$1.65 billion range for 2026, and elevated stock-based compensation of approximately $1.2 billion is likely to keep margin expansion measured. Continued execution risk surrounding the Perplexity rollout and the upcoming Specs hardware launch adds further uncertainty.
Hold or Wait for a Better Entry Point Ahead of Q1 2026 Results
Given the balance of revenue diversification progress against persistent user-growth challenges and elevated cost pressures, investors may be best served by maintaining their existing positions or awaiting a more attractive entry point following the upcoming first-quarter 2026 results announcement.
What Our Model Indicates
Per the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That's the exact case here.
Snap has an Earnings ESP of +18.46% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat earnings in their upcoming releases:
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
SNAP Gears Up to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock?
Key Takeaways
Snap (SNAP - Free Report) is set to report first-quarter 2026 results on May 6.
Per the Internal forecast, the company expects revenues between $1.56 billion and $1.6 billion, implying year-over-year growth of around 9% to 12%. The revenue range excludes potential contribution from the Perplexity AI integration, as both partners have yet to align on a broader rollout path.
For the upcoming quarter, management has guided adjusted EBITDA between $170 million and $190 million.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is currently pegged at $1.52 billion, indicating an 11.53% increase from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
The consensus mark for the bottom line has increased 12.5% to 9 cents per share in the past 30 days.
Snap’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate once in the trailing four quarters, while matching the same twice and missing the same once, with an average negative surprise of 45%.
Snap Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Snap Inc. price-eps-surprise | Snap Inc. Quote
Let’s see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement.
Factors to Note
Investors are closely watching how Snap has navigated its strategic pivot toward profitable growth amid evolving regulatory dynamics, intensifying competition in augmented reality and online advertising and a measured macro backdrop. Management has framed 2026 as a critical year of execution against its medium-term goal of meaningful net income profitability.
Management has indicated that the macro operating environment has remained relatively stable through the quarter and that the guidance assumes continued stability.
North America’s large-customer headwinds have persisted, while bright spots have emerged in U.S. Financial Services and autos verticals, supported by new leadership over the segment.
Multiple first-quarter announcements appear positioned to support results. Snap established Specs Inc. as a wholly-owned subsidiary to bring operational focus and capital flexibility ahead of the consumer launch of Specs later this year.
The company also rolled out Creator Subscriptions, with alpha testing beginning Feb. 23 across select U.S. creators and expanding into Canada, the United Kingdom and France.
In the quarter under review, Snap disclosed that its direct revenue business crossed a $1 billion annualized run rate, with the subscription community surpassing 25 million members. Snap has further scaled its ad portfolio with Total Snap Takeovers, Sponsored Snaps, Promoted Places and Smart Campaign Solutions, while active-advertiser growth has continued.
Artificial intelligence has been another notable contributor. On Mar 24, 2026, Snap launched AI Clips in Lens Studio, a closed-prompt photo-to-video AI Lens format available to Lens+ subscribers with creator monetization via Lens+ Payouts. The early-2026 Perplexity rollout into Snapchat's Chat interface has expanded conversational AI alongside My AI, while AI-powered Smart Campaign Solutions, including Smart Budgets and Smart Ads, have aided ad performance and active-advertiser scale.
Several pressures are likely to have weighed on first-quarter performance. Platform-level age verification in Australia has continued to compress reported user metrics, and similar regulatory measures are advancing in other markets. North American daily-active-user softness, sustained augmented reality and Specs investments, and infrastructure costs guided in the $1.6-$1.65 billion range for 2026, and elevated stock-based compensation of approximately $1.2 billion is likely to keep margin expansion measured. Continued execution risk surrounding the Perplexity rollout and the upcoming Specs hardware launch adds further uncertainty.
Hold or Wait for a Better Entry Point Ahead of Q1 2026 Results
Given the balance of revenue diversification progress against persistent user-growth challenges and elevated cost pressures, investors may be best served by maintaining their existing positions or awaiting a more attractive entry point following the upcoming first-quarter 2026 results announcement.
What Our Model Indicates
Per the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That's the exact case here.
Snap has an Earnings ESP of +18.46% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat earnings in their upcoming releases:
Arista Networks (ANET - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.79% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Arista Networks shares have gained 28.8% in the year-to-date period. Arista Networks is scheduled to report its first-quarter 2026 results on May 5.
Audioeye (AEYE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +9.62% and a Zacks Rank #2.
Audioeye shares have lost 27% in the year-to-date period. Audioeye is set to report its first-quarter 2026 results on May 13.
CDW (CDW - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.90% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
CDW shares have lost 0.4% in the year-to-date period. CDW is set to report first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on May 6.