Meta’s back on top

...but not for the reasons you think.

Author

Acceler8 Labs
May 02, 2025

📡 Meta’s on Fire, Snap’s in Flux … but don’t count them out.

The TL;DR:

  • Meta just posted a strong Q1 and quietly became one of the most efficient ad platforms again.

  • Snap raised eyebrows with a surprise April slowdown and no Q2 guidance—but behind the headlines, we’re seeing signs of a comeback.

📉 Snap’s Q2 Outlook: Murky at Best

Snap didn’t offer Q2 guidance. That’s rare.

Why? They flagged a “sudden April slowdown” and general economic uncertainty.

Brand budgets are cautious, and Snap’s North American DAUs just hit their lowest point since mid-2022.

That’s the bear case.

But it’s not the whole story.

🧭 Niket’s View from Snap HQ

“We haven’t run serious media on Snapchat in 3–4 years. The audience wasn’t converting. The tools weren’t there.

But last week, we joined a small agency roadshow at Snap’s NYC office—and it’s clear they know what needs to change.”

Here’s what stood out:

  • 900M+ global users

  • 120M in the U.S.

  • 50% of Snap users aren’t on TikTok

That stat landed hard. This isn’t just overlap anymore, it’s reach other platforms can’t hit.

Add in:

✅ Full-service onboarding
✅ Hands-on creative/account support
✅ Vastly improved platform UX

Snap’s brand budgets may be soft right now, but the DR side is quietly heating up. 60% of advertisers now use CAPI.

ROAS is stabilizing.

Performance ads are working.

Snap knows it lost ground. But it’s making the right moves to win back performance marketers.

We’re testing again, and watching closely

🚀 Meta: Efficient, Expanding, and Still Winning

Meta’s Q1 beat expectations across the board:

  • eCom strength, especially in US and RoW

  • Conversions growing faster than impressions

  • Advertiser ROI up, thanks to better ad ranking + ADV+ tools

  • Threads hitting 350M users (ads now live in 30 markets)

  • Meta AI scaling to 1B+ MAUs

User engagement?

Up 6–7% globally.

Time spent in the US?

Up >10% over the past six months.

If you’re not seeing improving ROAS on Meta in 2025, something’s wrong in your setup not the platform.

📊 What DTC Brands Should Do Next:

  1. Snap: Don’t scale yet, but don’t ignore it either. Test. Especially DR.

  2. Meta: Double down where you’re seeing returns. Lean into ADV+, AI tools, and audience expansion.

  3. Threads + Messaging: Watch closely. They're moving faster than expected.

  4. Creative = Conversion: Platform efficiency is rising. Your differentiator is now creative iteration speed and margin-smart feed strategy.

🧠 The Takeaway:

Snap’s top-line story looks shaky, but their product roadmap is finally aligned with what performance marketers need.

Meta’s hitting its stride again.

The winners this quarter won’t be the ones following headlines.
They’ll be the ones testing channel fit and optimizing execution in real time.

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