Snap Inc., parent of messaging app Snapchat, will publicly release financial information and other data related to its upcoming initial public offering late next week, according to multiple media reports.
Snap confidentially filed its IPO with the SEC last year. So this will be the first time that the company will have to give hard data about its size and growth.
Comes as Facebook (FB) has said its ad load have nearly maxed out, while Twitter (TWTR) struggles to expand beyond its power user base.
Snapchat has been a huge hit with teens and young adults. Its innovative messaging options and tools have spurred Facebook and its photo-sharing unit Instagram to copy them.
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Snap reportedly will look to raise up to $4 billion in its IPO. Snaps is eyeing a market valuation of $25 billion, though that could rise, Recode reported, which broke the news of Snap's imminent public filing Friday evening.
Under the rules, Snap must wait 21 days to begin its roadshow to tout its IPO to institutional investors. That suggests that Snap could go public in March.
Snap may fight for media coverage with Facebook, will reports fourth-quarter earnings late Wednesday. Analysts expect EPS to rise 66% while revenue climbs 46%, which would be stellar, but it would also be Facebook's second straight quarter of decelerating growth.
Facebook shares rose about 4% to 132.18 in stock market trading last week, breaking out of a cup-with-handle base with a 129.37 buy point. But the daily and weekly volume was below normal.
Twitter shares fell 0.1% to 16.57 last week, stuck below its 50-day and 200-day moving average. Aside from a short-lived surge in late 2016 surge on media and tech giants mulling takeover bids but ultimately declining, Twitter has been in a downtrend since the end of 2013, shortly after its IPO.
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