Popular social media service Snapchat lost more than $100 million during an 11-month period in 2014, according to leaked financial documents from the company.
The documents, obtained by Gawker, reveal that the company lost $128 million between January and November of last year while pulling in a meager $3 million in revenue.
Aside from payroll, the company’s biggest expenses are product ($47 million) and “outside services” ($13.7 million). Notably, the company spent just $600,000 on marketing.
There are some caveats to the report that should help Snapchat investors breathe easier: the company did not begin collecting advertising revenue until October of last year, so the $3 million in revenue presumably came during those final two months listed in the report. Also, Snapchat’s “Discover” feature, in which the company partners with advertisers to deliver branded content, first launched in January 2015, so any revenue generated from those advertisers is not listed in the report.
The company also has more than $300 million cash on hand.
Still, the numbers appear jarring for a company that turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook in 2013.
In a story last October, TechCrunch’s Jordan Crook called into question the company’s ability to generate significant revenue from its advertising, calling it “unclear” how the company would successfully parlay its “Our Stories” feature into a successful model for its advertisers.
But, as Business Insider’s Alyson Shontell points out, tech companies have a habit of spending years in the red before they become profitable. Facebook earned literally $0 from mobile when it first launched publicly; now, mobile makes up the bulk of the company’s revenue. And Uber, recently valued at more than $50 billion, has been losing money for years.
Snapchat did not immediately respond to Breitbart News’ request for comment.
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