Snapchat Loses $1.3bn After Kylie Jenner’s Tweet

Kylie Jenner’s tweet of no longer using Snapchat again, led to a $1.3 billion loss in the social media platform’s parent company market value on Thursday.

Kylie Jenner’s tweet read;

“Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me… ugh this is so sad,” Jenner tweeted.

She later followed up with “still love you tho snap … my first love,” but the damage may already have been done, as AFP reported that Snap Inc.’s shares fell by over 6% in Thursday trading, a loss of about $1.3 billion in market capitalization.

Citigroup’s Mark May said in a statement: ‘While the recent redesign of its flagship app could produce positive long-term benefits, the significant jump in negative app reviews since the redesign was pushed out a few weeks could result in a decline in users and user engagement, which could negatively impact financial results.’

After dropping almost 8%, shares in Snap closed 6% down on Wall Street, and are now back near the $17 price at which the shares were listed when the company floated on the stock market.

Snapchat is facing intense competition from Facebook’s Instagram – especially for celebrity users – and Kylie Jenner’s tweet comes at a time when investors are already worried.

Snap has rejected complaints about November’s re-design to its messaging app, with its boss Evan Spiegel saying earlier this month that users just needed time to get used to it.

Mr Spiegel had something to soften the blow, though, with news on Thursday that his total pay last year was a staggering $637.8m. It is thought to be the third-highest annual package ever received by a company’s chief executive.

The remuneration was, however, heavily boosted by the award of shares when the company listed on the stock market.

Mr Spiegel’s basic salary for last year was a more modest $98,078. The package trails the 2007 and 2008 compensation for Daniel Och, head of hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management.

He received annual packages of $918.9m in 2007 and $1.19bn in 2008.