Snap beats revenue estimates on ad boost from World Cup, shares jump

Aug 3 : Snap beat second-quarter revenue estimates on Monday, thanks to increased advertising spending during the FIFA World Cup and stronger campaign activity from large advertisers in North America, sending its shares up 9 per cent in extended trading.The social media firm's focus on direct response ads, designed to prompt specific actions such as app downloads or website visits, is helping it attract advertisers in a crowded market.The Snapchat parent also provides an AI-powered suite of ad tools, Smart Campaign Solutions, aimed at automating bidding, budgeting and audience targeting."After several quarters of improving our ad products and go-to-market approach, we saw better momentum with large advertisers in North America," CEO Evan Spiegel said. "The World Cup-related spending contri