Snap grows revenue 14% as users stall in North America and Europe.
Snap reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.72bn on 4 November, up 14% on a year earlier, and its first quarterly net profit of the year at $56m. Daily users edged up to 495 million, but the growth came entirely from outside North America and Europe.
The detail matters for anyone buying Snapchat media. North American daily users held at 92 million, down 6% year on year, and Europe was flat at 98 million. Rest of World, which includes the Middle East, rose 9% to 305 million. Revenue moved the other way: North America brought in $1.01bn, Europe $363m and Rest of World $345m. Average revenue per daily user was $11.07 in North America against $1.13 in Rest of World, according to Snap's supplementary tables.
Monthly users reached 977 million. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $383m. On the same day Snap's newsroom said its paid tiers (Snapchat+, Lens+, Platinum and Memories Storage) had passed 30 million subscribers, with Lens+ up nearly 600% since January. Chief executive Evan Spiegel said AI had become a significant advantage for Snap's teams and its ad platform.
The quarter also brings a reporting change. From the first quarter of 2027 Snap plans to drop daily users and regional ARPU as headline metrics and report global monthly users and a monthly-user-based ARPU instead, measured over the last 30 days of each quarter. Snap says daily use is no longer the best measure of long-term value. Social Media Today, citing finance chief Doug Hott's remarks, reports that advertising revenue grew 4% while other revenue rose 84%; those figures are not in the press release.
For Gulf marketers, the numbers show Snapchat's growth coming from Rest of World, the segment that includes the Middle East, where it earns about a tenth of North American revenue per user. Snap reports the region as one bloc, so there is no separate Saudi or GCC figure. Buyers who track Snapchat by daily reach will need new benchmarks next year, once regional daily figures disappear from Snap's filings.
Why it matters
Snapchat is growing mainly in Rest of World, which includes the Gulf and earns least per user, and Snap stops reporting daily users by region in 2027.
Related trends.
Meta's v27 ads API makes Product showcase and device expansion opt-out
Meta released version 27 of its Graph and Marketing APIs on 4 November, and two ad features can now switch on by default for new ads built through code. Advertisers using agency tools or their own scripts must opt out to keep the old behaviour.
Why it mattersAds built through agency tools or scripts may now pull in catalogue products or run on unchosen devices unless teams opt out explicitly.
Reddit starts testing ads inside its own search results
Reddit has begun testing ads on its own search results pages, so brands can appear when people search the platform for products and advice. The test, announced on 3 November, is open to only a small number of advertisers for now.
Why it mattersOur read: search intent is the signal advertisers pay most for, and Reddit now wants to sell it directly as referrals from Google shrink.
Meta pauses its new business terms as UK regulator opens a probe
Meta has paused the rollout of its revised commercial terms for businesses, and the UK competition regulator has opened a formal investigation into them. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says Meta announced the pause on 28 October, pending a consultation with industry groups.
Why it mattersThe 20 November date can no longer be relied on, and Meta's terms on AI use of business content are now under formal UK investigation.
