Snap Inc. Makes its Trading Debut on NYSE

Camera company Snap Inc., parent of ephemeral social messaging service Snapchat and Spectacles, finally made its much-anticipated trading debut on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today for US$ 17 a share in what's one of the biggest tech IPO's since Twitter back in November 2013. The big question however remains. With its user base slowing down last quarter (153 million daily active users in Q3 2016 v. 158 million in Q4 2016) and Facebook relentlessly copying its popular features everywhere, does Snap have what it takes to keep the momentum going and give stiff competition to the social media giant? Can its culture of secrecy convince investors in the long run? Will its excursions into hardware (drones, 360-degree camera) pay off when Facebook and Google are already heavily investing in similar areas? The game is on!

Screengrab from Yahoo! Finance