Snap: Large R&D Investments With Little To Show For It

Jun. 04, 2023 9:29 AM ETSnap Inc. (SNAP) StockSNAP4 Comments
Richard Durant
8.84K Followers

Summary

  • Snap's Q1 results were poor, keeping the stock price low, even as many tech stocks have surged.
  • Snap still needs to demonstrate that AR is a viable business and that its advertising products are viable in a privacy-first world.
  • Snap trades at a significant discount to peers, in part due to poor margins, and while it has better growth prospects, the near term remains clouded by macro factors.

Snapchat, Facebook, Whatsapp and other phone Apps on iPhone screen

stockcam

Snap's (NYSE:SNAP) first quarter results were poor, which has kept the stock price low, even as many other tech stocks have done well. Some of Snap's problems are likely the result of genuine macro weakness, with platform policy changes and company-specific issues

This article was written by

8.84K Followers
Richard Durant is the leader of Narweena, an asset manager focused on finding market dislocations that are the result of a poor understanding of a businesses long-term prospects. Narweena believes that excess risk adjusted returns can be achieved by identifying businesses with secular growth opportunities in markets with barriers to entry. Narweena’s research process is focused on company and industry fundamentals with the goal of uncovering unique insights. Narweena has a high risk appetite and a long-term horizon, in pursuit of stocks that are deeply undervalued. Coverage tilts towards smaller cap stocks and markets where competitive advantages are not obvious.Investments are driven by a belief that an aging population with low population growth and stagnating productivity growth will create a different opportunity set to what has worked in the past. Many industries are likely to face stagnation or secular decline, which counter-intuitively may improve business performance if competition decreases. Conversely, other businesses are likely to face rising costs and diseconomies of scale. In addition, economies are becoming increasingly dominated by asset light businesses, and the need for infrastructure investments is declining over time. As a result, a large pool of capital is chasing a limited set of investment opportunities, which is driving up asset prices and compressing risk premia over time.Durant has undergraduate degrees in engineering and finance from the University of Adelaide (Honors) and an MBA from Nanyang Technological University (Dean’s Honors List). He has also passed the CFA exams.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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