The ultimate social media influencer: Kylie Jenner's tweet wipes $1.3bn off Snap Inc's value

Shares tanked 6.1 per cent Thursday as users raise issues with the app's latest redesign

Kylie Jenner's tweet wipes $1 billion off Snapchat

Kylie Jenner's tweet wipes $1 billion off Snapchat
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Snap Inc’ s flagship platform has lost an estimated $1.3bn in market value after a tweet by Kylie Jenner, a famous social-media influencer from the celebrity Kardashian-Jenner business family.

Shares of the Snapchat parent company sank 6.1 per cent on Thursday on the heels of a tweet on Wednesday from Ms Jenner, who said she doesn’t open the app anymore. Whether it’s the demands of her newfound motherhood, or the recent app redesign, the testament drew similar replies from her 24.5 million followers. Wall Street analysts too have begun to notice, citing recent user engagement trends noticed since the platform’s redesign.

Jenner’s tweet was followed late Thursday by one from Maybelline New York, asking its followers if it should stay on the Snapchat platform. The beauty-product brand owned by Paris-based L’Oreal SA said its “Snapchat views have dropped dramatically,” but it still wanted to connect with its followers.

Citigroup analyst Mark May downgraded the stock to sell from neutral earlier this week after seeing a “significant jump” in negative reviews of the app’s redesign. He expects the reviews could cause user engagement to fall, hurting financial results.

Meanwhile, as the app takes criticism, chief executive Evan Spiegel may become one of the highest paid executives in the US. After the company’s IPO last March, Spiegel got a $636.6 million stock grant that will be payable through 2020.

"Still love you tho snap," Ms Jenner hedged in a later tweet.