Snap's Radical Reorg: AR Specs, Squads, and Survival Amid Ad Slowdown

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This past week I celebrated 14 years, and let me tell you, there’s been more action in and around Snapchat than some tech darlings see in a decade. On September 8, Evan Spiegel penned an open letter admitting that Snap is accelerating its direct revenue game—expanding Snapchat Plus with premium features and livestreaming, and rolling out sleek new tools so creators can bond more deeply with their biggest fans. With more than 15 million paying Snapchat Plus subscribers yielding over $700 million in annual recurring revenue, direct revenue is our fastest-growing opportunity. Spiegel’s vision is a future powered by durable multi-billion-dollar revenue streams rooted in friendship, creativity, and self-expression.

But Snap hasn’t just been signing up subscribers. There’s been dramatic restructuring to revive growth and fight off ad revenue stagnation. The company announced a startup-style reorg, slicing its 5,000-strong employee corps into agile “squads” of 10 to 15, each running on 90-day missions and weekly demo days. These teams, led by accountable squad leaders, are tasked with faster experiments and risk-taking—Spiegel calls this injecting “startup energy” at global scale. This is all set against fierce competition from Meta, Google, and TikTok, with ad revenue growth lagging at just 4 percent for Q2 and North American daily active users dipping 2 percent to 98 million according to TechCrunch and Benzinga.

Financially, it’s been a bumpy week. On September 4, Snap’s stock slid 2.21 percent and trading volumes nosedived by more than a quarter, driven by global downloads declining 12.6 percent year-over-year and slowing user growth—the Q3 uptick was only 2.3 percent according to AInvest News. Add to this a rumored “leadership exodus”: General Counsel Michael O’Sullivan’s impending departure with no public drama but still lacking succession details. Meanwhile, analyst sentiment is cautious, with a price target averaging $9.62—well below the glory days but still a Buy for those betting on a turnaround.

On the product front, buzz is swirling around Snap’s push with augmented reality Specs—the next-gen AI glasses—with Spiegel himself promising these will usher in “a once-in-a-generation transformation” that could ultimately replace smartphones. There’s major hope pinned here, with the specs poised to launch shared AR experiences and offer creator monetization through new marketplaces.

Socially, Snapchat’s global community keeps surging, reaching 469 million daily active users per Statista and Wizishop, powered by India and the U.S. Snapchat continues to cater to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who love their ephemeral snaps, imagine-driven Lenses, and vertical ad moments that grab attention in seconds—something brands are leveraging more aggressively this year according to FutureVisionComputers.com. Speaking of Lenses, this week saw the launch of Imagine Lens, Snapchat’s first generative AI image tool that lets users transform photos and share them instantly, tailored to subscribers who want the coolest, newest creative tech.

As Snap regroups for what Spiegel calls “the most consequential year yet,” it’s clear the business is betting on vitamin-injected innovation and creator-first revenue streams to scale up, reengage users, and maybe—just maybe—win back Wall Street's love. No wild speculation here: every headline screams that Snapchat is hustling for a comeback, restructuring its teams and product roadmaps to chase profitability and cultural relevance faster than ever.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This past week, I celebrated fourteen years, and let me
tell you, there's been more action in and around Snapchat
than some tech darling see in a decade. On September eighth,
Evan Spiegel penned an open letter admitting that Snap is
accelerating its direct revenue game, expanding Snapchat Plus with premium
features and live streaming, and rolling out sleek new tools

(00:21):
so creators can bond more deeply with their biggest fans.
With more than fifteen million paying Snapchat Plus subscribers yielding
over seven hundred million dollars in annual recurring revenue, direct
revenue is our fastest growing opportunity. Spiegel's vision is a
future powered by durable, multi billion dollar revenue streams rooted

(00:43):
in friendship, creativity, and self expression. But Snap hasn't just
been signing up subscribers. There's been dramatic restructuring to revive
growth and fight off ad revenue stagnation. The company announced
a startup style reorg, slicing its five found strong employee
cores into agile squads of ten to fifteen, each running

(01:05):
on ninety day missions and weekly demo days. These teams
led by Accountable Squad leaders are tasked with faster experiments
and risk taking. Spiegel calls this injecting start up energy
at global scale. This is all set against fierce competition
from Meta, Google and tik Tok, with AD revenue growth

(01:25):
lagging at just four percent for Q two and North
American daily active users dipping two percent to ninety eight
million according to tech Crunch and Benzinga. Financially, it's been
a bumpy week. On September fourth, Snap stock slid two
point two one percent and trading volumes nosedived by more
than a quarter, driven by global downloads declining twelve point

(01:48):
six percent year over year and slowing user growth. The
Q three uptick was only two point three percent, according
to a in vest News. Add to this a rumored
leadership exodus j General Council Michael O'Sullivan's impending departure with
no public drama but still lacking succession details. Meanwhile, analysts
sentiment is cautious, with the price target averaging nine dollars

(02:11):
and sixty two cents, well below the glory days, but
still a bye for those betting on a turnaround. On
the product front, buzz is swirling around Snap's push with
augmented reality specs the next gen AI glasses, with Spiegel
himself promising these will usher in a once in a
generation transformation that could ultimately replace smartphones. There's major hope

(02:33):
pinned here, with the specs poised to launch shared AR
experiences and offer creator monetization through new marketplaces. Socially, Snapchat's
global community keeps surging, reaching four hundred sixty nine million
daily active users per Statista and Wizorship. Powered by India
and Bus, Snapchat continues to cater to gen z and

(02:54):
jen Alpha who love their fheneral snaps, imagine driven lenses,
and vertical ad moos moments that grab attention in seconds.
Something brands are leveraging more aggressively this year, according to
Futurevisioncomputers dot com. Speaking of lenses, this week saw the
launch of Imagine lens, snap That's first generative AI image

(03:15):
tool that lets users transform photos and share them instantly,
Tailored to subscribers who want the coolest, newest creative tech
as snappery groups. For what Spiegel calls the most consequential
year yet, it's clear the business is betting on vitamin
injected innovation and creator first revenue streams to scale up,
re engage users, independent songs and sound design, and maybe,

(03:40):
just maybe win back Wall Street's Love. No wild speculation here.
Every headline screams that Snapchat is hustling for a comeback,
restructuring its teams and product road maps to chase profitability
and cultural relevance faster than ever. And that is it
for today. Make sure you hit the subscribe by button
and never miss an update on Snapchat. Thanks for listening.

(04:04):
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