Tech

Snap lost $514 million last year and warns that it 'may never be profitable'

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Evan Spiegel
Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel speaks onstage during 'Disrupting Information and Communication' at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 8, 2014 in San Francisco, California.  Getty/Michael Kovac

Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. posted a net loss of $514.6 million in 2016, according to the initial public offering prospectus it filed on Thursday.

The company's losses have been widening in recent quarters as Snap ramps up spending and hiring.  

Snap also said that it "may never achieve or maintain profitability," as it plans to continue investing heavily in its business.

"We began commercial operations in 2011 and for all of our history we have experienced net losses and negative cash flows from operations," Snap said in its regulatory filing with the SEC. "If our revenue does not grow at a greater rate than our expenses, we will not be able to achieve and maintain profitability."

The warning comes as Snap plans to list shares in March, and could fetch a valuation of as much as $25 billion, people familiar with the matter have said.

Snap reported a net loss of $372.9 million in 2015, further indicating that its expenses will continue to grow. It had annual revenue of $404.4 million in 2016, up from $58.6 million in 2015.

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Alex was a senior reporter for Business Insider in New York City, where he mainly covered tech companies in the social media space, like Facebook, Snap, and Twitter. Before that, he covered apps and streaming services for Business Insider's consumer tech vertical, Tech Insider.