Breakfast News: Reddit's User Growth Slows

Motley Fool
13 Feb

Breakfast News: Reddit's User Growth Slows

February 13, 2025

Wednesday's Markets

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$97,544 (+1.2%)

Source: Image created by JesterAI.

1. Reddit Gets Hit by Google Curveball

Reddit (RDDT 1.27%) fell by over 18% after the closing bell, despite reporting a 71.3% increase in revenue versus last year. The drop can be partly attributed to lower user growth following an algorithm change from Alphabet (GOOG -0.88%).

  • "We see volatility from Google all the time, as does everybody": CEO Steve Huffman acknowledged Reddit has previously benefited from algorithm updates, and noted a recovery in search-related traffic in Q1 so far.
  • High user engagement and community growth are key for success: The results showed an average of 101.7 million daily active users, up 39% from last year but below analyst forecasts. Lower user growth is critical as the bulk of revenue comes from advertising.

2. Apple Links up With Alibaba

Alibaba (BABA 4.92%) Chairman Joe Tsai confirmed rumors from earlier this week that his company will be powering AI features for iPhones in China. Having a local partner could help Apple (AAPL 1.83%) to revive product sales in the country.

  • "Apple has been very selective...they choose to do business with us": The Chinese domestic AI market is becoming increasingly competitive, with Baidu (BIDU 4.36%) just announcing it would make its AI chatbot free to use. Tying with Apple marks a big win for Alibaba, with the stock jumping to its highest level since 2022.
  • The biggest market for smartphones and AI: For Apple, latest quarterly results showed an 11% drop in sales out of China, with tight regulations meaning that it can't release the full AI features without local partners. The partnership could help to alleviate some investor concern in this region.

3. The Trade Desk Stutters

The Trade Desk (TTD 1.68%) dropped by over 26% after hours as the business missed its revenue target for the first time as a public company. As long-term investors, it's key to look beyond knee-jerk reactions and spend time establishing if your investing thesis remains intact.

  • "We stumbled into a series of small execution missteps": CEO Jeff Green knew the implications of the results, outlining a 15-point action item list on the earnings call to address things. This included increasing brand-direct efforts as well as more AI investment.
  • Every cloud has a silver lining: Although revenue missed expectations, the quarterly figure was still up 22% versus the same period last year. It has an agreement to buy Sincera, a digital advertising data company, which could help to fuel further growth this year.

4. What to Watch on Thursday

Rule Breakers rec Airbnb (ABNB 4.46%) will report Q4 earnings after the market closes. Investors should watch for more information about key expansion markets as well as the impact of removing 300,000 low quality listings.

  • Ranked 8th for its ability to beat the market over the next 5 years across all Motley Fool recs: Airbnb management recently announced there would be two major new initiatives this year that could each generate $1 billion or more in revenue. The report today should provide more detail on what this entails.
  • Revenue expected to jump over 20%: Beating the S&P 500 by 19% since its Stock Advisor recommendation, Datadog (DDOG 1.84%) also reports today, with eyes on any increased demand for AI-supported security products as well as how strong retention rates are for existing clients.

5. Powell Flags Caution After Inflation

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there was more work to be done on taming inflation after headline Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) came in hotter than expected, causing an initial drop in stocks across the board.

  • "We want to keep policy restrictive for now": Traders are now only pricing in just over one 25bps interest rate cut for 2025, with Powell strongly hinting that the base rate will remain elevated for the foreseeable future.
  • Headline inflation back at June 2024 levels: Signs of a trend higher could also be noted in the core reading (excluding food and energy), as it rose to 3.3%, above the 3.1% consensus and higher than the 3.2% from last month. This was a 0.4% monthly increase, the largest since last March.

6. Foolish Fun

When do you sell the losers in your portfolio? Discuss with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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