Snapchat's parent company Snap Inc has reported a net loss of more than $US2.2 billion ($A3 billion) in the company's first earnings report, amid stiff competition from copycat messaging apps.
The loss was higher than some analysts predicted and follows a steady drop in the company's share price amid pressure from rivals, including Facebook.
Shares tumbled nearly 24 per cent in after-hours trading to $US17.58, wiping some $US5 billion from Snap's market capitalisation in the latest reversal after a red-hot March initial public offering, the biggest for a US tech firm since Facebook Inc in 2012.
The loss mirrored slides in Facebook and Twitter after they posted debut scorecards following their IPOs.
Twitter shares cratered 24 per cent the next day, while Facebook's tumbled 11 per cent, still the biggest-ever one-day losses for both.
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Snapchat reported an increase in the number of daily active users from 158 million at the start of the year to 166 million.
It is also registered an increase of 36 per cent on the 122 million daily users the app had this time last year.
Snapchat has come under intense pressure in recent months from Facebook, which has added Snapchat-like features to its network of Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Confidence in Snapchat was dented last month when Instagram revealed its Stories feature had surpassed 200 million daily users, well ahead of Snapchat.
Earlier this week, Snapchat announced it would allow users to send images and video without time limits for the first time, expanding one of the app's signature features in what is seen as an attempted fightback against Facebook.
