SLOWDOWN

Snapchat Reports Drop in Daily Users Amid Social Media Slump

The bad news was briefly offset by news of a major investment by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.

Snap Inc. reported its first drop in daily users on Tuesday, with a loss of 3 million users in the second quarter of the year. The roughly 2 percent drop marks the first decline since Snapchat was founded in 2011 and puts the company far behind analysts’ expectations for user growth, a worrying sign for investors already alarmed by the slowing growth of Facebook and Twitter. Despite the plummet in daily users, which the company blamed on an unfortunate redesign, Snapchat reported a 44 percent increase in revenue over last year. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal also announced Tuesday that he invested $250 million in the social-media company for a 2.3 percent stake, news that appeared to send shares soaring by as much as 14 percent in after-hours trading before they fell again.