Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel reiterated his support for long-term decision making at the corporate level and expressed enthusiasm for the company’s virtual reality work during an interview with CNBC Tuesday (June 21) in Cannes, France.
Asked about a steep slide in the company’s shares following a profit warning in May, Spiegel said: “We just stay focused on the long-term. And of course markets are volatile. That’s to be expected.”
Spiegel noted that the company had been forthright with investors about declining growth, but “it happened further and faster than we expected.” He added that macroeconomic trends reward companies that focus on long-term growth rather than maximizing short-term profits because inflation will eat into the value of profits.
CNBC interviewed Spiegel at an augmented reality presentation by the company. As far as that part of Snap’s work, he said: “I think what’s so exciting is that we continue to strengthen our lead in augmented reality, which is going to be so important to the growth of our business going forward.”
About 250 million people engage in augmented reality via Snap every day, he said.
“If you look at young people, about a third of their discretionary spend today goes to fashion, accessory, beauty; and all of those different categories can see amazing results with augmented reality because it enables people to try those products from the comfort of their home and without having to changes clothes.”
When online shoppers for clothing use augmented reality, Siegel said, they virtually try on items they might not otherwise consider and return less of what they buy.
“Our business continues to grow. We continue to invest. We’re certainly excited about the product roadmap,” he said.
Snap issued its profit warning in May, saying it planned to cut back on hiring and spending.
More here: Snap Says Hiring, Spending Will Slow After Issuing Profit Warning
The platform said at the time that it was fighting inflation, the impact of the Russia- Ukraine war, and Apple’s changes to its privacy policy.
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