Snap Inc. stock fell nearly 20% Tuesday after reporting earnings that fell short of Wall Street's revenue and user growth expectations. Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel announced that the company is redesigning its app to make it easier to use and understand, which will hopefully lead to increased user adoption.
Why it matters: Snapchat has been assuring investors since going public in March that it's strategic investments in ad technology would drive revenue, particularly in North America, and that the creation of copycat products by rivals, like Instagram and Facebook Stories, would not continue to slow its user growth. Its earnings show that the company still has a long way to go in achieving those goals and redesigning its app is a big sign that it's feeling the pressure to make big changes quickly.
The day has come: Twitter, after years of forcing users to express themselves through its signature 140-character limit, is doubling that length for everyone's tweets (save for those in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese). The company began to test these longer tweets in September with a few users, though it was first rumored to be considering extending the character limit almost two years ago.
The big moment: Will this fundamentally change the nature of Twitter? The character limit has been iconic and it's even led to the "tweetstorm" as a workaround for longer thoughts and ideas that can't fit in one tweet (which Twitter filed to trademark in 2015), along with other creative solutions like screen shots of longer messages.
There is evidence that social media bots helped stir online activity around a controversial ad against Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie in the buildup to election day today, The Washington Post reports. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam's campaign cited a third-party analysis that found automated Twitter accounts tweeted using terms linked to groups behind the ad, allegedly inflaming online tensions.
Why it matters: Similar automated social media accounts helped to stir online chatter over divisive issues on a national scale during the presidential election last year. Facebook, Google and Twitter came under fire on Capitol Hill last week over how Russian actors used their sites to spread controversial content and ads.
As Axios reported on Sunday, the issue drew the ire of LGBTQ individuals and organizations, many of whom noted that Twitter was blocking legitimate content even as it failed to adequately stop white supremacist and other hate speech.
Rex Tibbens is stepping down as chief operating officer of Lyft by year-end, Axios has learned from multiple sources. Tibbens, who joined the ride-hail company in 2015 after four years at Amazon and over a decade at Dell, has not yet decided on his future plans.
Why it matters: Lyft reportedly wants to go public next year, but first will need to fill this new hole in its senior executive team.
Since this morning, there have been massive Comcast internet outages across the U.S., particularly in big cities like New York, D.C., Portland and San Francisco, according to Level 3's outtage map. Comcast tweeted this morning, "Some customers are having issues with their XFINITY Internet service. We apologize & appreciate your patience while we work to fix."
Why it matters: We have yet to hear any reason for the outages. Spectrum and Verizon customers have also reported outages today, according to BGR, but not at the same rate as Comcast customers.
Former FBI Director James Comey confirmed the worst-kept secret in Washington this morning: he's on Twitter. Previously, he'd tweeted under the name Reinhold Niebuhr from @FormerBu, but he made things official with a newly verified account:
After the first weekend, more people are using an iPhone X than were doing so after the first weekend of the iPhone 8, according to data from mobile engagement firm Localytics.
Why it matters: The iPhone is the biggest driver of sales and profits for Apple and demand for the high-end iPhone X is being closely watched by investors.
CVS Health's pharmacies will start offering one-day delivery of prescription drugs to people's homes, CEO Larry Merlo said Monday. CVS will launch next-day delivery nationwide and same-day shipping in certain cities, beginning next year.
Why it matters: CVS is clearly trying to get ahead of Amazon, which is eyeing a push into prescription drug delivery and has changed the way people shop for and receive day-to-day items. CVS' potential acquisition of Aetna also would attempt to stave off competition from Amazon.
Quick numbers: CVS posted almost $1.3 billion of profit and $46.2 billion of revenue in the third quarter.
