Snap (NYSE:SNAP.NYSE) shares have plummeted after the Snapchat app company reported slowing user growth and revenue in its first earnings report since it went public in March.
Snap shares fell 23 percent in after-hours trade, wiping $6 billion from the firm's market cap.
The stock fell to $17.66 but remained just above its IPO price of $17.
Snap reported its daily active users (DAUs) surged 36.1 percent year-on-year to 166 million in the first quarter, which is markedly slower than the 47.7 percent rise registered in the fourth quarter and 62.8 percent increase for the third quarter that the company reported in its IPO filing.
Snap missed has struggled to add users drawn to copycat apps produced by rival tech players such as Facebook (NASDAQ:FB.NASDAQ) and Instagram.
A fact not lost on Snap CEO Evan Spiegel.
"If you want to be a creative company, you've got to get comfortable with and enjoy the fact that people are going to copy your product if you make great stuff," he told investors on a conference call.
While Snap's revenue almost quadrupled year-on-year to $149.6 million it was still below the average analyst forecast of $158 million, according to Thomson Reuters.
Revenue was also down when compared to the fourth quarter of 2016 when it was $166 million.
Snap's net loss also expanded to $2.21 billion, or $2.31 per share, in the first quarter, from $104.6 million, or 14 cents per share, due to stock-based compensation related to the IPO.