Snapchat shows new signs of life, topping 200 million daily users for first time

Snapchat has the makings of a comeback story.

Snapchat added 13 million daily users in the three months ending in June, ending a long period of lackluster growth and pushing the company’s total audience above 200 million daily users for the first time.

The stronger-than-expected user growth, combined with a slowdown in losses during the quarter, helped drive up shares of Snapchat’s parent company about 11% in after-hours trading. It’s now just short of its initial public offering price.

The social media company has been working to right the ship for most of the two years since its initial public offering. After a poorly received redesign of the Snapchat app in late 2017 cost it millions of users, it’s trying to grow audience and cut its losses as it battles its much bigger rival Instagram. In the quarter ending in June, it appears to have moved in that direction.

Snap Inc. reported a loss of $255 million for the quarter, a 28% improvement from the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue hit $388 million, up 48% from a year earlier and well above analysts’ projections of $360 million.