Snapchat to run out of steam as user growth stalls: Report

San Francisco: With just $1.4 billion in its kitty at the end of third quarter results, the already struggling multimedia messaging platform Snapchat could even lose $1.5 billion in 2019, analysts have predicted.

Snapchat lost nearly 2 million daily active users in the third quarter this year and now has 186 million daily users. "Snapchat could run out of money well before it`s projected to break even in 2020 or 2021," TechCrunch reported on Sunday, quoting market research firm MoffetNathanson.

Snapchat`s daily active users number shrank 1.5 per cent to 188 million in the second quarter of 2018, down from 191 million in the first quarter this year. It appears that Facebook-owned Instagram "Stories" has stalled Snapchat`s growth.

More than 400 million people use Instagram`s "Stories" feature daily to post photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. WhatsApp`s Snapchat "Stories" clone called "Status" has also hit 450 million daily users.

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"Snap did successfully reduce the rate of its free cash flow burn from a loss of $234 million in Q2 2018 to a loss of $159 million in Q3. "But unless Snap bounces back, it will still need either an investor or acquirer to come to its aid by 2020," the report added.