They don’t call ’em social media influencers for nothing.
Snap’s shares sank more than 7% in trading today shedding an estimated $1.3 billion in market value a day after reality TV star Kylie Jenner sent out a tweet suggesting she doesn’t use the Snapchat app anymore.
The sentiment clearly struck a chord with some of her 24.5 million Twitter followers, more than a quarter-million of whom liked what she said.
Jenner’s social media post may have magnified Wall Street’s concerns about the Snapchat update, which has drawn criticism from some users who say the latest version makes it difficult to see friends’ stories. A petition circulating on Change.org, urging Snap to bring back the old app, has attracted 1.2 million signatures.
Citigroup recently downgraded Snap to a “sell” rating, citing negative response to its redesigned Snapchat app.
“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,” wrote Citi’s Mark May on Tuesday.
Snap stock was trading at $17.29 this afternoon, down $1.34 from the opening stock price.
In a regulatory filing today, Snap reported that its 27-year-old chief executive and co-founder, Evan Spiegel, received $637.8 million as total compensation in 2017.
The figure includes a stock award worth $636.6 million granted in connection with last year’s initial public offering. Spiegel earned a salary of $98,078 and collected other compensation worth about $1.2 million, an amount that includes $561,892 for security.
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