Wrapping up Q4 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the social networking stocks, including Reddit (NYSE: RDDT) and its peers.

Businesses must meet their customers where they are, which over the past decade has come to mean on social networks. In 2020, users spent over 2.5 hours a day on social networks, a figure that has increased every year since measurement began. As a result, businesses continue to shift their advertising and marketing dollars online.

The 5 social networking stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.9% below.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 7.9% since the latest earnings results.

Best Q4: Reddit (NYSE: RDDT)

Founded in 2005 by two University of Virginia roommates, Reddit (NYSE: RDDT) facilitates user-generated content across niche communities (called subreddits) that discuss anything from stocks to dating and memes.

Reddit reported revenues of $725.6 million, up 69.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 8.7%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

“We’re entering the next era of Reddit—defined by sharper execution, global expansion, and product innovation that puts real people and conversations at the center,” said Steve Huffman, Reddit Co-Founder and CEO.

Reddit pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth of the whole group. The company reported 52.5 million daily active users, up 9.4% year on year. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 2% since reporting and currently trades at $148.10.

Read why we think that Reddit is one of the best social networking stocks, our full report is free.

Meta (NASDAQ: META)

Famously founded by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) operates a collection of the largest social networks in the world - Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, along with its metaverse focused Reality Labs.

Meta reported revenues of $59.89 billion, up 23.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. The business had a very strong quarter with revenue guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and a decent beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 4.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $640.50.

Is now the time to buy Meta? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q4: Pinterest (NYSE: PINS)

Created with the idea of virtually replacing paper catalogues, Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) is an online image and social discovery platform.

Pinterest reported revenues of $1.32 billion, up 14.3% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly and EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Pinterest delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The company reported 619 million monthly active users, up 11.9% year on year. As expected, the stock is down 11.6% since the results and currently trades at $16.40.

Read our full analysis of Pinterest’s results here.

Yelp (NYSE: YELP)

Founded by PayPal alumni Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, Yelp (NYSE: YELP) is an online platform that helps people discover local businesses through crowd-sourced reviews.

Yelp reported revenues of $360 million, flat year on year. This result met analysts’ expectations. Zooming out, it was a slower quarter as it logged full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Yelp had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 5% since reporting and currently trades at $21.69.

Read our full, actionable report on Yelp here, it’s free.

Snap (NYSE: SNAP)

Founded by Stanford University students Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown, and Bobby Murphy, and originally called Picaboo, Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) is an image centric social media network.

Snap reported revenues of $1.72 billion, up 10.2% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. It was a very strong quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The company reported 474 million daily active users, up 4.6% year on year. The stock is down 17% since reporting and currently trades at $4.91.

Read our full, actionable report on Snap here, it’s free.

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