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Most Snapchat users are on IOS and other cool information

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Tech companies are notoriously secretive about their user makeup and their internal operations. Snap filled its paperwork for its IPO (Initial Public Offering) and it makes for a fantastic read. You too can read the S1 here

As much as Android fans want to pretend they are as vibrant as the IOS community, the Snap S1 begs to differ. They clearly highlight that most users of Snapchat are on IOS thus making it the priority development platform for the service.

The majority of our user engagement is on smartphones with iOS operating systems. As a result, although our products work with Android mobile devices, we have prioritized development of our products to operate with iOS operating systems rather than smartphones with Android operating systems.
— Snap S1

The other interesting tidbit is that the mast majority of the service operates on Google's cloud service (instead of Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure). Snap recently signed a $2B 5-year deal with the sultan of search.

We rely on Google Cloud for the vast majority of our computing, storage, bandwidth, and other services.
— Snap S1

They also talk about a continued commitment to innovation and this is seen as a way to improve user engagement and thus improve ad revenue. Hopefully innovation is more than filters and glasses.

Another interesting tidbit is their underhanded acknowledgement of Facebook and its potential to disrupt Snapchat's business model.

Many of our current and potential competitors have significantly greater resources and broader global recognition and occupy better competitive positions in certain markets than we do.
— Snap S1

The final snippet of information I wanted to share was that they aren't profitable and may never be profitable.

We have incurred operating losses in the past, expect to incur operating losses in the future, and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
— Snap S1

Even with this grim view of the world, analysts expect the IPO to be a smash hit. Time will tell but what does it say when investors are willing to spend billions for a company that may never return a penny?