https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/6/16980734/snap-inc-snapchat-stock-q4-2017-earnings >It looks like the cloud of doom and gloom hanging over Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. may be in the early stages of receding, as the company today posted its first ever better-than-expected quarterly earnings since going public in spring of last year. Helping the situation even further is an improved user growth rate of 5 percent this past quarter, up from 2.9 percent in the previous quarter, with 8.9 million new users. That indicates that Snap CEO Evan Spiegel’s redesign of the Snapchat app, unveiled back in November and still in the process of rolling out worldwide, may be helping the company reclaim some of its early-stage popularity surges that were damaged, in part, by Facebook’s launch of Instagram Stories. >By the numbers, Snap’s fourth quarter earnings were significantly higher than Wall Street expectations, with sales of $285.7 million, or a 72 percent increase over the same time a year ago, and a net loss of $350 million. Analysts expected Snap to post revenue of $255 million and a loss of $405 million, meaning the company vastly out-performed its projected metrics. Investors were thrilled with the outcome, sending Snap stock sky rocketing more than 25 percent in after-hours trading.